Shubman Gill likely to be fit for UAE leg of IPL 2021

Kolkata Knight Riders opening batsman Shubman Gill is likely to be fit for the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

Gill suffered a shin splints injury on the tour of England during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and was ruled out for the five-match Test series.

The Board of Control of Cricket in India has revealed that Gill has been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and is on the right track to recovery.

“We are quite hopeful that he will be available for the IPL,” Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore said.

A source has confirmed that Gill is not feeling the pain and he should be fine for the IPL.

“He is not feeling pain. Gradually his workload will be increased – from slow jogging to running twice-thrice a week. We’re confident he will be fine by the IPL which is anyway a month away,” an informed source told Cricbuzz on Wednesday (August 18).

KKR are expected to leave for UAE on August 27. However, Gill might not travel with the team as he won’t be 100% fit by then. The right-hander from Punjab is expected to join his teammates in the first week of September.

The IPL will resume from September 19.

On the other hand, it has been confirmed that T Natarajan, who underwent knee surgery in April, has recovered and he will travel with Sunrisers Hyderabad on August 31 to Dubai.

“We’ve got the go-ahead and he will be travelling with us to Dubai on August 31,” an SRH official told Cricbuzz.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings have confirmed that Josh Hazlewood will be available for the second leg of the IPL. Thus, CSK will have to leave out Jason Behrendorff, whom the franchise had signed as a replacement for Hazlewood before the start of the tournament.