India’s No.3 was the second batter to be unavailable for the first Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium after regular skipper Rohit Sharma missed out due to paternity leave. Gill injured his thumb during the three-day match simulation that India had ahead of the Test.
According to several reports, Gill was injured while taking a slip catch during India’s training session last week. It was initially suspected to be a fracture, effectively ruling him out for the series opener. It was later speculated that Gill did not have a fracture.
India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel later provided an update on Gill’s injury, stating that he was improving on a “day-to-day basis” and that a decision on his fitness would be taken on the morning of the Test match. He was not named in the XI for the Perth Test, with Devdutt Padikkal replacing him.
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No mention of fracture
The BCCI later provided an update on the player, which suggested he did not have a fracture.
“Shubman Gill sustained a left thumb injury during Day 2 of match simulation at The WACA. He was not considered for selection for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress on a daily basis.”
Gill, who made his debut on India’s last Test tour Down Under, has played 29 Tests, making 1,800 runs at an average of 36.73.
India have also picked Dhruv Jurel as a specialist batter, but the two biggest surprises were their omission of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, picking debutants Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana in their place.
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