“Yeah, I think we first need to determine how he got the neck stiffness, maybe just a bad night’s sleep. I don’t think it’s, or we can put it down to the load,” Morkel said, when asked if Gill’s packed multi-format calendar was a factor
Morne Morkel
India skipper Shubman Gill’s availability for the remainder of the opening Test is in serious doubt after he was stretchered into an ambulance with his neck immobilised on Saturday evening, hours after retiring hurt during India’s first innings on Day Two at the Eden Gardens.
India assistant coach Morne Morkel blamed it on bad night’s “sleep and not his workload”.
“Yeah, I think we first need to determine how he got the neck stiffness, maybe just a bad night’s sleep. I don’t think it’s, or we can put it down to the load,” Morkel said, when asked if Gill’s packed multi-format calendar was a factor.
India captain Shubman Gill retires hurt after suffering a neck injury. Pic/AFP
Calling the timing unfortunate, the South African added: “Gill is a very fit guy, he looks after himself very well, so it’s just unfortunate this morning that he woke up with a stiff neck and that carried him into the day, which was crucial for us. Another sort of partnership with him batting around was going to be needed for us at the time and... just bad timing.”
Morkel admitted his side was “surprised” by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface “deteriorated” after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell. India, resuming on 37 for 1, were bowled out for 189, before Ravindra Jadeja (4-29) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-12) left South Africa tottering at 93-7, an overall lead of just 63, with only skipper Temba Bavuma (29 off 78) offering resistance.
Morkel said the dressing room had not anticipated such rapid wear and tear on the pitch. “Yeah, look, I mean, to be honest with you, even we didn’t expect a wicket to deteriorate so quickly... we all thought when we watched that first couple of hours that it was a good wicket, so it did deteriorate quite quickly, which was unexpected,” he said.
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