Gill on Holiday Abroad? Physio Claims Unfitness for Duleep Trophy

Cricbuzz has learned that a physiotherapist recently examined Gill and submitted a health report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approximately 24 hours ago. Meanwhile, Gill has shared a picture on his Instagram account showing him on holiday abroad.

The Duleep Trophy 2025 is fast approaching, and news has emerged that Shubman Gill may be forced to withdraw from the tournament due to fitness concerns. He had been appointed captain of the North Zone team. The North Zone selection committee has been considering the possibility of Gill's unavailability for the inter-zonal competition starting August 28th at the Bengaluru Centre of Excellence (COE) for the past few days. However, as of Friday (August 22nd), they had not received any official communication from the North Zone associations.

However, Cricbuzz has learned that Gill's physio recently examined him and submitted a fitness report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approximately 24 hours ago. Meanwhile, Gill shared a picture on his Instagram account showing him holidaying abroad. However, there's no confirmation of when this picture was taken. Gill captioned the picture, “Never miss a chance to watch the sunset.”

While officials from the BCCI and selection committees (national and zonal) did not immediately respond to specific questions about Gill's availability, sources close to the Indian Test captain confirmed the situation. Gill would not be able to play in the entire Duleep Trophy in any case, as he is scheduled to play for the national team in the Asia Cup starting September 9th in the UAE. The Duleep Trophy runs from August 28th to September 15th, meaning he could only be available for, at most, the opening match. The North Zone is set to face the East Zone in their quarter-final at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence ground in Bengaluru.

Earlier this month, Gill returned from a highly successful tour of England, where he scored 754 runs in the five Test matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, following which national selectors picked him for India's Twenty20 squad for the Asia Cup. In fact, he was also appointed vice-captain for the Asia Cup.

The North Zone selectors had already made arrangements for his replacement in case of his withdrawal from the competition. Shubham Rohilla (शुभम रोहिल्ला) was selected in place of Gill at the time of the team announcement. Ankit Kumar has been named vice-captain of the North Zone team, meaning he will now captain the zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, both included in the Asia Cup squad, will leave the zonal team after the first match to join the national team. If the North Zone progresses beyond the first match, which is a knockout match, Gurnoor Brar and Anuj Thakur have been selected as replacements for the two fast bowlers.

The North Zone selection committee comprises Chetan Sharma, Nikhil Chopra, Amit Uniyal, Mithun Minhas, Raj Kumar, and Mukesh Kumar.