India captain Shubman Gill, who has not trained since sustaining a neck spasm during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata, and will take a fitness test on Friday to determine his availability for the second match, has been advised by former cricketer Aakash Chopra to take a break.Gill has become a central figure in Indian cricket this year. He is the only frontline batsman who plays all three formats and also leads the team in Tests and ODIs. He has been made vice-captain in T20Is, signaling a possible leadership role in the shortest format if he keeps his place in a competitive setup. He also captains Gujarat Titans in the IPL.Since February, Gill has played every major assignment — the IPL, a home ODI series, and the Asia Cup, which marked his return to T20Is after more than a year. No other India player has featured in all these tournaments.Aakash Chopra offered his view on Gill’s workload. “I asked Gautam Gambhir exactly that (about Gill’s workload management). His point was that if you need workload management, then skip the IPL,” Chopra said, as quoted by News18.“If you feel that leading an IPL team puts too much pressure, then don’t lead. While playing, (if) you are fit and not mentally fatigued… can turn up with 100 per cent intensity, play every single game you can – as a batter – I second the opinion that when you are going through a good form, you really want to maximize. You never know when the bad form (will hit you) or where the next run is going to come from. We have all gone through those feelings,” he added.Gill was appointed Test captain earlier this year and led India to a 2-2 draw in England, followed by a 2-0 win over the West Indies at home.He developed the neck spasm on Day 2 of the first Test against South Africa and has not returned to training.South Africa won the low-scoring match at Eden Gardens to continue their strong run after becoming World Test champions in June. The victory was their first Test win in India since the opening match of the 2010 series.
