Shubman Gill hospitalised with neck injury, ruled out of first Test

India captain Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the remainder of the opening Test against South Africa after being admitted to a Kolkata hospital with a neck injury on Saturday evening.

Gill, who was batting on 4, experienced sudden pain in his neck after executing a sweep shot off spinner Simon Harmer on Day 2. He received immediate attention from the team’s medical staff before retiring hurt. Later in the evening, he was stretchered into an ambulance with his neck immobilised for further examination.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Sunday that the skipper will take no further part in the match and will remain under medical observation. The board added that he will continue to be monitored by its medical team and will not be available to bat in the second innings on the uneven Eden Gardens surface.

Vice-captain Rishabh Pant, who led India for the remainder of Day 2 in Gill’s absence, will continue as stand-in captain for the rest of the Test.

India’s assistant coach Morne Morkel later downplayed workload concerns, suggesting that the issue may have stemmed from “a bad night’s sleep” rather than fatigue. Gill has been one of India’s busiest players this year, featuring across formats, returning to T20s during the Asia Cup in September, and taking over as ODI captain for the Australia white-ball tour.The extent of his injury and recovery timeline is expected to be assessed further over the coming days.