India’s T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill has revealed the neck injury that sidelined him for almost a month, revealing for the first time the extent of the problem and the challenges he faced during his recovery. Gill suffered the injury during the opening Test of the two-match series against South Africa in Kolkata, an incident that brought his busy year of international cricket to an abrupt halt.
Gill, who leads India in Tests and ODIs, lasted just three balls in the first innings at the Eden Gardens before discomfort turned to sharp pain after a run on Simon Harmer. The 26-year-old was immediately taken off the field and later hospitalised, ruling him out of the second Test in Guwahati and the subsequent three-match ODI series.
After initial treatment, Gill checked into the Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for rehabilitation. He was cleared by the medical team earlier this week and rejoined the squad in Cuttack for the five-match T20I series. Ahead of his comeback, Gill said he felt fresh, pain-free and mentally balanced after a long break.
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“I’m fine, I spent a bit of time at COE. Totally fine physically and mentally. I had a sort of bulging disc in my neck that was getting on my nerves. The morning before the game I had a bit of a cramp and when I was playing the game I strained my neck and the bulge hit a nerve so I had to go to the hospital for my first interview in a few days,” Gill told T2.
Gill admitted it was frustrating to miss the important matches but feels the squad is building in the right direction ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“Looking at it from the outside, the Test matches haven’t gone very well but we’ve done very well in the ODIs. Hopefully we’ll do well in the T20Is. We’ve got 10 T20s before the World Cup starts. Hopefully we’ll find momentum and rhythm. Momentum is one thing we want to aim for. We want to find the right combinations for different surfaces,” he added.
On Thursday, Gill returned to the field and fell for a two-ball four in the first T20I against South Africa. After opening his account with a boundary, he mistimed the next delivery and was caught by Marco Jansen for four.
In his absence, India lost the Test series but bounced back strongly to clinch the ODI 2–1. The focus now fully shifts to the T20Is as both teams fine-tune their squads ahead of the global event in February-March next year.
Gill, who has been playing non-stop cricket since the Champions Trophy, enters this phase with added control. The 26-year-old has struggled for consistency in T20Is and with Sanju Samson moved down the order, the upcoming matches against South Africa and New Zealand could prove crucial for Gill’s long-term role as T20I vice-captain.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
December 9, 2025
