Gill not ruled out yet
Shubman Gill was struck on his thumb during India's match simulation training a few days back, with initial reports suggesting that he had suffered a fracture, effectively ruling him out of the series opener.
However, it was later reported that Gill hadn't suffered a fracture and that he could recover sooner than initially expected. Now, two days ahead of the start of the Perth Test, Morkel addressed a press conference stating that Gill has not yet been ruled out of the first Test.
“Shubman is improving on a day-by-day basis," Morkel said. "We will take a call on the morning of the Test. He played well in the match simulation during the build-up, so fingers crossed.”
There has been no official word regarding the status of Gill's injury, but the bowling coach claiming that he hasn't technically been ruled out of a Test match starting in two days' time implies that India's No.3 most likely hasn't suffered a fracture.
Nitish Reddy in line for a debut?
The other major hint Morkel dropped was regarding uncapped youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy. Reddy's stocks have risen rapidly this year, so much so that he is now in line for a potential Test debut in Australia.
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Morkel talked about how India can use Reddy's bowling skills to stem the run flow from end while giving the main seamers a breather at the same time. "He is one of the young guys," Morkel said.
"He'll be one guy who can hold one end for us, especially for the first couple of days. Wicket to wicket bowler. Any team in the world would want an all rounder who can help the pacers. It'll be on [stand-in captain] Jasprit [Bumrah] how he uses them. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on in the series."
The specificity with which Morkel described the plans they have for using Reddy might be an indication that the management has made up its mind to play him in the Perth Test.
Reddy was part of the India A squad that played two four-day games against Australia A a couple of weeks back. While he didn't set the stage on fire, managing 71 runs at 17.75 and a solitary wicket at 80, he did keep the runs down with the ball, bowling with an economy rate of 2.58, the lowest among Indians, backing up Morkel's claim.
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