Having recovered from neck injury, Shubman Gill raring to go in the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, slated to begin on Tuesday (December 9) in Cuttack.

Gill, who leads India in Tests and ODIs, sustained the injury while batting in the first innings of the Kolkata Test against South Africa last month. The injury forced him to retire hurt and he wasn’t able to take further part in the match. He was also ruled out of the Guwahati Test which India lost to go down 2-0 in the series and then missed the three-ODI series against Proteas.

Gill had to be hospitalized for a few days in Kolkata, before checking into the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) for rehabilitation. After receiving clearance from the medical team, he was given the go-ahead to join the Indian T20I squad in Cuttack.

On the eve of the T20I series opener, the 26-year-old provided insights on his recovery process, revealing that he is feeling completely fine and is raring to go for the next international assignment.

"I'm feeling much better. I think the day that I came here, from that day till today, I've had quite a bit of skill sessions and some training sessions. So I feel much, much better now. From recovery to training, I think for an athlete, it can't get any better. You know, it's a paradise for any athlete. You come here, you want to get physically better, you want to get mentally better," said Gill in a video shared by BCCI.

"I mean, you can't ask for better facilities. You know, you can go to the oxygen chamber. There's cryo there. And some of the things that I've used for the recovery have been pretty amazing for me. What stood out for me was there are so many machines that I don't know how to use. That itself tells you, you know, how big the setup is," he added.

Gill further stated that after reporting to the CoE, one realises how high they are in the pecking order, as only top players gain access to facilities at the centre in Bengaluru.

“We all used to look forward to coming here, spending time with the coaches, training here. When you're coming here, you know you're kind of the cream of the crop. So, you know you have the skill set to be able to reach the next level. And making use of the facility where you know how I can go to the next level physically or how I can go to the next level mentally,” Gill remarked.

In the absence of Gill, India suffered a 0-2 whitewash in the Test series against South Africa. However, the hosts bounced back to win the ODI series 2-1. Now all focus is on the T20I leg as both teams are finalizing their combinations for the T20 World Cup, set to be played in February-March next year.