Following Shubman Gill's thumb injury during a training session, Devdutt Padikkal has been appointed as his replacement in the Indian line-up for the number three spot as the Jasprit Bumrah-led Team India takes on Pat Cummins' Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth's Optus Stadium, on November 22. BCCI has provided a big update on star batter's injury and why he was not considered for selection.
BCCI's update on Gill
"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," wrote BCCI in their official statement.
Padikkal's big Test
Devdutt Padikkal who made his Test debut earlier this year during the England series only had one innings under his belt prior to this match but he would be eager to not waste this massive opportunity and contribute to the side with some runs. He will get to bat at number 3 and he himself likes to bat at the top order.
India's line-up has seen two big debuts of Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy. However, neither Ravichandran Ashwin nor Ravindra Jadeja have found a spot in the playing XI, instead, Washington Sundar is the lone spinner for India in the Perth Test.
IND vs AUS Playing XIs
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
