India’s preparation for the opening Test in Perth took a painful blow with Shubman Gill suffering a left thumb injury while taking a catch at the WACA on Saturday (November 16). Initial reports suggest a hairline fracture and as a result, Gill is set to miss the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener at the Optus Stadium, starting next Friday (November 22).
Considering there were several batters who were nicked off and caught in the slip cordon on Day 2 of India’s match simulation, it’s unclear exactly at what point Gill hurt himself. But he was spotted on the field at first slip for pretty much the entirety of the first session and most of the afternoon period. While the official verdict from the team management at this stage is that Gill is not ruled out of the first Test, he will struggle to make it with a fractured thumb. Early signs definitely don’t look too promising. And with Rohit Sharma’s availability for the first Test still uncertain following the birth of his son, India could be left with some tough decisions with regards to their top order.
Gill batted twice on Friday and looked to be getting into his own in terms of fluency and rhythm. Having made a very impressive start to his Test career in these conditions as an opener four years ago, it’ll be disappointing for both him and the team if he were to miss out at the start of the big series.
KL Rahul was present at the WACA on Saturday but didn’t take the field. He hasn’t done so since copping a painful blow to his right elbow on the first day of the centre-wicket practice session. He’s not under an injury cloud according to the team management however, with the scans reportedly coming back benign, and he should be in line to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal next week.
Abhimanyu Easwaran, the other reserve opener in the Test squad, failed to impress once more on this tour of Australia, being caught by a diving Virat Kohli at second slip, after a loose flash outside his off-stump. India’s top-3 will carry a rather under-par look on paper without Rohit and Gill, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Indian selectors make up for their absence.
The India A team, under Ruturaj Gaikwad, is still in Australia and the selectors may ask a few batters to stay back for the series as a backup measure. As of Saturday night, no decision has been taken on this front.
Gaikwad was the best of the batters on show from those outside the Test squad, hitting four sixes with two of them coming off R Ashwin’s bowling, and looking quite resolute outside his off-stump unlike most of his batting colleagues. Devdutt Padikkal too had a decent outing in the first session on Saturday and looked quite comfortable even against Jasprit Bumrah, who steamed in at full tilt ahead of what should be his second Test as captain. It remains to be seen if either of Gaikwad or Padikkal are held back and if so, whether one of them gets a go in place of Gill.