India opener Shubman Gill had just started to feel at home in the national Test team, but an untimely shin injury caused him to miss a considerable amount of time including the series against England in the UK and some other assignments as well.
He managed to make a comeback against New Zealand at home in December, but the injury caused him to miss some more matches and Gill says though he has made a full recovery now, it was a shock to him when he did realize the reason he was in pain for long hours.
“I have recovered from it completely now. I ended up with a stress fracture on my shin when we were playing in the ICC World Test Championship final in England. About 2-3 days later, when the match ended, that night, I was in a lot of pain with my shin. I was in pain for almost 7-8 hours," Gill told Sports Tak in an interview.
He continued, “I had no issues with my shin. I had never faced any problem with it whatsoever. It was a shock to be in pain for 7-8 hours in the night. When I told the physio next day, they got an MRI done and that is where I found out that there’s a fracture in the shin."
Shubman Gill, who has played 10 Tests and 3 ODIs for India, revealed that he was in considerable pain while fielding during the two Tests against New Zealand in November-December last year.
“After that (UK tour) we went for the IPL (in UAE) and there weren’t too many fitness Tests so when we were playing Tests against New Zealand, it reoccurred. In the first innings, there was quite a load while fielding because for a long time, there wasn’t a Test match where we had to field for close to 130-140 overs, fielded almost for 2 days. Due to that, it began paining again. After that the physios decided that until and unless it completely heals, I won’t try to make a comeback. Else it will keep happening. I spent two months at the NCA and I am now completely pain free," Gill explained.
