Shubman Gill's preparations for India's ODI series against New Zealand drew attention for an unusual reason, with the India captain repeatedly wearing a metallic device on the side of his forehead. He was first seen using it during India's training sessions after arriving in New Zealand, and continued with it during the opening ODI at Eden Park.

Shubman Gill, wearing Temple, has joined the Indian team to practice ahead of ODIs. https://t.co/GjxB536oVg

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) October 29, 2026

Gill also batted with the device, with even New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson enquiring about it.

The device is called Temple, a health and fitness wearable developed by Deepinder Goyal, the co-founder of Indian food delivery company Zomato. Unlike conventional fitness trackers and smartwatches, which are usually worn on the wrist, Temple is designed to monitor changes in blood flow to the brain.

What does the Temple device do?

Temple is a small device attached to the skin near the temple on the forehead using adhesive patches called Grips. These keep it in place while the wearer goes about their daily activities.

Its main technology, called BrainFlow, uses light sensors to track changes in blood flow near the brain. In simple terms, it measures how blood circulation in the head changes during different activities. The device also provides a measurement called Entropy, which Goyal describes as the body's real-time 'cost of being alive'. It is intended to show how much strain the body is under at a given time, with factors such as exercise, poor sleep, stress, caffeine and even meditation influencing the reading.

Can it help athletes?

Athletes can use the readings to see how their bodies respond to physical activity and which factors are affecting their recovery.

However, Gill has not publicly explained why he is wearing the device, and there is no confirmation that it is part of India's official fitness-monitoring programme.

Earlier, another Indian athlete, badminton player PV Sindhu, was also spotted wearing the device during international competitions, including the World Championships.

Sindhu explained how the device can help athletes monitor different aspects of their health and performance, particularly recovery. “When you look at the data, you get an understanding of how your body is recovering and how well you are sleeping. It varies from individual to individual,” she told NDTV.

She added that Temple offers insights beyond physical recovery, including cognitive performance, heart rate and heart rate variability. It also tracks nutrition, giving athletes more information to assess their overall condition.

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