Why Team India vice-captain Shubman Gill is not playing in 2nd T20I vs Sri Lanka?

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Team India's vice-captain, Shubman Gill, wasn't part of the side's XI for the second T20I of the series against Sri Lanka. Gill had an impressive outing with the bat on Saturday during the first match of the series, when he scored a quickfire 34 off just 16 deliveries after India batted first. His aggressive start, coupled with strong performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav, played a key role in India, posting a massive score of 213/7 in 20 overs.

India vs Sri Lanka Live Score 2nd T20I

However, Gill was forced out of the second T20I, with Indian captain Suryakumar revealing that the young batter woke up with a neck spasm. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson replaces Gill in the Indian XI, although Rishabh Pant is likely to don the gloves in the match in Pallekele.

Gill, who was part of the reserves in the T20 World Cup until the group stages, was named the Indian captain when the BCCI named a largely second-string squad for the T20I series against Zimbabwe. The young opener led the side to a formidable 4-1 series win in the African nation; following Gautam Gambhir's appointment as the side's head coach, Gill was named vice-captain in both ODIs and T20Is.

The Sri Lanka series marks the beginning of Gill's stint as India's permanent vice-captain in white-ball formats.

India are leading the three-match T20I series 1-0, having registered a comprehensive 43-run win in the first match. In addition to Gill's aggressive innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal (40), Suryakumar Yadav (58), and Rishabh Pant (49) made important contributions to take India to a strong total in the game.

Sri Lanka, however, faltered in the run-chase despite a strong start; from 140/1 in 14 overs, the Islanders lost their next nine wickets within just 30 runs, with Riyan Parag picking three wickets in just 8 balls, while Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh picking two each.

The three T20Is will be followed by a three-match ODI series, which will mark the return of captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli to the format for the first time since the World Cup last year.