Shubman Gill, India's Test captain, is likely to miss the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled to start in Bengaluru in a few days, as the star batter is reportedly unwell. Gill was named the skipper of the North Zone.

Gill has already unfolded a new chapter in his red-ball career after a memorable tour of England both as a batter and captain. He played a key role in helping India draw the five-match Test series against England 2-2 with a memorable win in the final match at the Oval.

The North Zone selection committee has been anticipating the possibility of Gill's unavailability for the competition, scheduled to begin on August 28 at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, for the last few days. However, as of Friday (August 22), they had not received any official communication from the North Zone associations.

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As per a report in Cricbuzz, Gill was recently examined by the physios and a health status report was sent to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about 24 hours ago. At present, the 25-year-old Gill is in Chandigarh, resting at home.

There haven't been any official updates on Gill's availability from the BCCI officials or the selection committee so far, but the report claimed the development sources close to the India Test skipper. Gill would not have featured in the entire Duleep Trophy in any case, as he was due to leave for national duty in the Asia Cup 2025, starting September 9 in the UAE.

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In an interesting turn of events, Gill made his return to the T20I side and has been named the vice-captain of the side for the Asia Cup 2025. The Duleep Trophy runs from August 28 to September 15, and at best, he could have been available only for the opening game. North Zone will be up against East Zone in their quarterfinal at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence ground in Bengaluru.

Earlier this month, Gill witnessed a historic outing in England where he scored 754 runs in five matches during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which prompted the national selectors to pick him in India's squad for the Asia Cup.

Shubham Rohilla was named as a replacement for Gill at the time of announcing the squad. Ankit Kumar was named vice-captain of the North Zone side, which means he will now lead the zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, both named in the Asia Cup squad, will leave the zonal side after the first game for national duty. Gurnoor Brar and Anuj Thakral were named as the respective replacements for the two pacers, should North Zone proceed beyond the first match, which is a knockout game.