Shubman Gill, the India captain, will not be present for the first Ranji Trophy match that Punjab is going to play against Assam in New Chandigarh. However, he is likely to participate in the next match against Chhattisgarh, which is to take place from the 18th until the 21st of October.
The Punjab team is going to begin their campaign with Uday Saharan as captain in the game with Assam. He is famous for being the captain of the Indian national team at the age group of Under-19 when they won the World Championship. According to the reports of PTI, Punjab has not provided any reasoning for the lack of Gill in the match.
The national selection committee has instructed all available international players representing India to take part in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. As a result, most of the players have reported to their respective domestic teams to participate in matches.
For example, Ravi Jadeja is joining the Saurashtra team, while KL Rahul is playing for Karnataka. Gurnoor Brar is expected to join the Punjab squad after the ODI series against the West Indies, and Akash Deep is going to take part in the match.
Gill could play Punjab’s second match
Gill might be back for the contest against Chhattisgarh from October 18 to 21, after which he will be ready for the Indian cricket team’s tour of New Zealand.
Since Gill is not part of the India A team, he could use the Ranji Trophy as a way to make up for lost time as far as match practice is concerned before heading to international duties. He will be in the squad for the first three one-day internationals against New Zealand.
Nevertheless, the 21-year-old has not yet confirmed his participation in the game against Chhattisgarh. Approaching the match will determine the availability of Gil.
Punjab squad for the first Ranji Trophy match
Uday Saharan (C), Salil Arora (WK), Sanvir Singh, Harpreet Brar, Gurnoor Brar, Anmol Malhotra, Ramandeep Singh, Umesh Yadav, Harnoor Singh, Vihaan Malhotra, Emanjot Singh Chahal, Jashanpreet Singh, Gursimran Singh, Anshul Chaudhary and Harjas Singh Tandon.