Shubman Gill Unwell, Set To Miss Asia Cup 2025 Due To Health Issues: Report

India Test captain Shubman Gill is said to be suffering health issues and is resting at his house in Chandigarh. The news comes at a time when he was recently named in India 15-member playing squad to the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2025 which will take place next month.

Shubman Gill Health Update

As per a report in Cricbuzz, medical staff has recently visited Gill and informed the BCCI about the situation a day before. The 25-year-old had recently returned to India T20I side, where he was made vice-captain, which shows how he is also becoming an important player in all formats.

Gill was initially projected to be fit before the Asia Cup but he will not be available during the Duleep Trophy because of the illness. The home event is the traditional start of the red-ball season in India and Gill was named the skipper of North Zone in the event.

The star batter was anyhow unlikely to participate in the tournament due to his Asia Cup commitments. The Duleep Trophy 2025 will commence on August 28 and will end on September 15, which overlaps with the Asia Cup.

Asia Cup Schedule and Gill’s Absence

The Asia Cup 2025 will kick off on September 9 when Afghanistan will play Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi. The schedule would have enabled Gill to play the first round of the Duleep Trophy and fly to the UAE. He is however not expected to attend the entire event with his current health issues.

This lack creates a gap in the leadership of North Zone since Gill was the pivot of the balance of the team. His shape and size as captain was considered critical in giving a great start to the tournament. This unavailability is making selectors rely on substitutes.

Shubman Gill Replacement Confirmed

The North Zone selectors had made back-up plans in anticipation of such an issue. They appointed Shubham Rohilla as a replacement of Gill in the team. In the meantime, the first vice-captain Ankit Kumar will replace Gill as the skipper since he is not in the team.

The reshuffle is also a chance that young players can have to shoulder responsibility in high-pressure matches. To Gill, recovery and preparations to play in the Asia Cup in India remains a priority and the domestic event will not be as important as the international event.

Duleep Trophy Faces More Player Withdrawals

Gill is not the only one who is unavailable in the Duleep Trophy. Two other North Zone cricketers, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are likely to accompany the India squad to the Asia Cup. Both pacers could feature in the first round of the tournament but are to travel to the UAE after that.

The BCCI has been displeased with the exclusion of some of India top players in the Duleep Trophy. A letter by the general manager Abey Kuruvilla reminded the state associations of the necessity to include the top players including KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, and Sai Sudharsan.

“To uphold its prestige and ensure the highest quality of competition, it’s imperative that all currently available India players are selected for their respective zonal teams. Requesting the Zonal Convenors to ensure that all the current India players who are available to play Duleep trophy should be picked,” the letter stated, as reported by The Indian Express.

BCCI medical staff will now carefully monitor Gill and hope he can recover in time to be fit in time to play in the Asia Cup 2025. His availability at the top order will be very important as the team enters into one of the biggest continental cricketing events.

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