BCCI president Sourav Ganguly comments on decision to not send replacement for injured Shubman Gill in England

Sourav Ganguly on Thursday tried to steer clear of the controversy surrounding the national selectors' decision to not send a replacement for injured opener Shubman Gill in England.

Shubman Gill's injury in England has thrown open discussions around his replacement for the Test series in England. Gill picked up a shin injury and has reportedly been ruled out of the series against England. It was mooted that Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal could be sent for the tour to England as his replacement but no official decision has been made.

Sourav Ganguly gave his take on BCCI's decision to not send additional openers to England. (Getty Images)

Both Shaw and Padikkal are currently in Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series and it has been said that India already have several openers in England like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Abhimanyu Easwaran and that more replacements weren't needed.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Thursday tried to steer clear of the controversy surrounding the national selectors' decision to not send a replacement for injured opener Shubman Gill in England, saying it was a matter for the selection committee to consider.

When asked about the contentious issue, Ganguly, while addressing reporters on his 49th birthday on Thursday, said: "That's selectors' call."

Under regular skipper Virat Kohli, India is set to play a five-match Test series against England, starting August 4. The red-ball battle is also the first series of the second cycle of World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23.

With the IPL 2021 suspended earlier this year, Ganguly seemed confident about the BCCI being able to successfully stage the remainder of the tournament later this year in September-October in the UAE. The BCCI chief also weighed in on the T20 World Cup, explaining once again the decision to move the ICC event out of India to the UAE.

"Nothing will happen we will manage. It will start in September we will chalk out the nitty-gritties. There will be regret but no one has witnessed such a situation in their entire lifetime. These are exceptional circumstances," he told reporters.

"Last year the World Cup got cancelled and this year if again the World Cup gets cancelled because of Covid, then it's a massive loss for the game. That's why we have taken it into a safer place," he said.

As far as his health is concerned, Ganguly, who earlier this year had suffered a heart attack and undergone angioplasty on the same, said he is doing absolutely fine.

"I'm fully fit. It's another year gone, that's the way it is. In these Covid times, you just try and stay as quiet as possible. It's for the people around you rather than you. People at home have made their preparations to celebrate. It's closed-door celebrations," he said.