India's batting star Shubman Gill is gearing up for the second Test against Australia after missing the series opener in Perth due to finger injury right before the match. However, after a brief injury layoff, the 22-year-old top order batter is back in the nets to prepare for the showdown in Adelaide, which is scheduled to start from December 6.
Big injury update on Shubman Gill's finger injury
With just few days to the second Test, has has given a big update on his finger injury through a video released by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). While Jasprit Bumrah-led Team India notched a stunning win over Australia to kick off the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 with a bang, Gill was forced to watch the action from the sidelines.
The injury occurred during an intra-squad practice match at the WACA earlier this month. Gill sustained a hairline fracture to his thumb while taking a catch, preventing him from participating in the opening Test of the five-match series.
Despite Gill's absence, India put on a show, both with the bat and ball to bulldoze Australia by a resounding margin of 295 runs. After being dismissed for a modest 150 runs in their first innings, India staged a remarkable comeback as they gunned down Australia for a meager 104 runs riding on Jasprit Bumrah's magnificent five-wicket haul.
India's second innings was all about their brilliant batting which was headlined by centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli which powered India to a formidable total of 487/6 declared. Australia, chasing a challenging target of 533 runs, could only muster 238 runs in their second innings, hence conceded the match on the fourth day itself.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, who missed the first Test due to a finger injury, has made good progress in his recovery. On November 29, he was spotted hitting the nets and appeared comfortable during his batting session. The 25-year-old expressed satisfaction with his recovery, stating that he felt much better than expected.
"I was just trying to get a feel, to be honest, see how the injury is reacting, if there is any kind of jardness or any kind of soreness with me playing, but it actually went much better than I expected and Kamlesh bhai expected, and I'm very happy with that," said Shubman Gill in a video posted by BCCI.
Gill also expressed his disappointment at missing the opportunity to play at the iconic Perth Cricket Ground. As a young cricketer, he had eagerly anticipated playing at this historic venue.
"Any ball, when it hits the bat, especially the middle of the bat, the feeling that you (0:06) get, that's the feeling that I play for. When I got to know about my injury for the first couple of days, I was quite low, a bit disappointed. Perth is the only venue where I haven't played when we came the last time," Gill further added.
"I was looking forward to playing there and it's such an iconic venue. But the way we played that game, and by the end of it, I was very happy with the way that we played and we won the game," he concluded.
India's assistant coach on Shubman Gill's availability for 2nd Test in Adelaide
Meanwhile, India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has also provided an update on Gill's availability for the second Test against Australia.
"He is still batting, physio will do the evaluation and tell after that. As of now, I don't know what is his status but he appeared quite comfortable while batting. It seems like he can bat. He is batting indoors for now. And after that, there will be an assessment of whether tomorrow they will play the match or not," said Abhishek Sharma in the press conference.
