Shankar is set to join the team currently in Australia before the second ODI in Adelaide on January 15. Meanwhile, Gill will not be part of the ODI series in Australia but is scheduled to join the team in New Zealand for the upcoming matches, commencing on January 23.
It is understood that Mayank Agarwal was on standby to travel to Australia as the third opener, but a bruised finger that is yet to heal led the selectors to opt for Gill. As a consequence of the injury, Agarwal will also not be available for Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Rajasthan from January 15.
This will mark the first India call-up for the 19-year-old Gill, who recently showcased an exceptional performance in the Ranji Trophy for Punjab, accumulating 790 runs in ten innings at an average of 98.75, including two centuries and five half-centuries. Prior to the Ranji campaign, Gill had also been part of the India A squad that toured New Zealand.
Gill had a breakthrough year in 2018 when he was recognized as the Player of the Tournament during India’s Under-19 World Cup triumph in New Zealand. It was during this tournament that he was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.8 crores. Competing for a lower middle order position in a star-studded batting line-up, he delivered an unbeaten match-winning 57 against Chennai Super Kings. It was then that Dinesh Karthik, the KKR captain, remarked: “That boy is special. I don’t want to hype it up and put extra pressure on him. I can see a lot of years of India Blues in him.”
Shankar played the role of the finisher effectively, amassing 188 runs at an average of 94 in the three matches.
CoA divided on inquiry procedure
Rai is in favor of following the BCCI legal team’s opinion, which stipulates that the CEO should reach out to the players and seek an “early” explanation from them so that the inquiry can be expedited. In an email sent to Edulji on Saturday, Rai expressed that the BCCI should conclude the inquiry by the end of the second ODI, which is on January 15, as the “delinquent behavior on the part of some player” should not “debilitate” the strength of the India team.
On Thursday, the BCCI legal team had informed the CoA that as per rules, once the CEO had submitted his report based on the players’ explanation, the rightful and final authority to adjudicate the issue would be the Ombudsman. However, the BCCI has not appointed a new Ombudsman since the expiration of Justice AP Shah’s one-year term in 2016. The legal team recommended the appointment of an ad-hoc Ombudsman as a stop-gap measure. Rai suggested to Edulji that the amicus curiae – Gopal Subramanium – appoint the ad-hoc Ombudsman.
However, Edulji disagreed. “We should be in no hurry to conduct the inquiry as then it will look like a cover up job being done,” she wrote in response to Rai. She also expressed that Johri being involved in the inquiry would appear as “bad optics” owing to the “grave sexual allegations levied” on him recently, which were cleared by a three-member ad-hoc committee in controversial circumstances.
Instead of the ad-hoc Ombudsman, a role she pointed out the BCCI constitution does not “provide”, Edulji suggested that the probe should be carried out by the CoA together with the three BCCI office bearers, or the CoA and the board’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhury. Rai, who is overseas, has not yet responded.
GMT 1940 The article was amended after the BCCI sent out its release confirming the selection of Gill and Vijay Shankar. The article had earlier said Mayank Agarwal was likely to be named as Rahul’s replacement.
Nagraj Gollapudi is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
