India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said Shubman Gill batted without pain in the nets at the Manuka Oval at the Canberra on Friday, November 29. Gill was seen batting for the first time since he was ruled out of the first Test due to a fracture on his left thumb. Gill suffered the injury while training for the first Test in Perth and had to be on the sidelines for over a week.
Abhishek Nayar said Shubman Gill will be monitored by the physio on Friday before taking a call on his participation in the warm-up match against Prime Minister’s XI.
“He is batting now. The evaluation will be done by our physio. I am not aware of his status. But, when batting, he looked very comfortable. He is batting indoors. We will assess whether he will play tomorrow’s match after the assessment,” Nayar said while speaking to the press at the Manuka Oval.
Shubman Gill faced a few underarm throws before increasing the intensity of his training. He faced left-arm pacer Yash Dayal and right-arm fast bowler Akash Deep in the nets.
He then batted alongside India captain Rohit Sharma, who is on track to lead India in the warm-up match. Rohit missed the first Test to be with his wife Ritika Sajdeh during the birth of their second child earlier in November.
India will be keen on having Shubman Gill back for the second Test, which will be a day-night affair in Adelaide. The second Test gets underway on December 6, but India will also be careful of not rushing Gill back into the action.
India opened with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul in the first Test while Devdutt Padikkal, who was not part of the initial 18-man squad, was drafted in to bat at No. 3. Inida played two wicketkeepers in the XI with Dhruv Jurel playing as a pure batter.
India did not feel the absence of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma as they hammered Australia by 295 runs. Despite being bowled out for 150 in the first innings, India rode on hundreds from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli and a solid 77 from KL Rahul to 487 for 6 declared.
