India's top-order batter Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the two-day warm-up pink-ball match against Prime Ministers XI at Manuka Oval, Canberra starting November 30. Gill who has injured his thumb during match simulations missed the Perth Test. However, a final call on his availability for the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval starting December 6 will taken closer to the game.
"Gill will not hold the bat till the time he hasn't fully recovered. A final call will be taken closer to the game," the source told Sports Tak.
How Gill's replacement fared in Perth Test?
In his absence, Devdutt Padikkal was asked to stay back and given a chance at no.3. In the first innings, he departed for a 23-ball duck. The southpaw followed it up with a 71-ball 25. He shared a 74-run partnership with KL Rahul. In both innings, he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood.
Who will bat at no.3 in Adelaide if Gill gets ruled out?
If Gill does not recover in time, KL Rahul who scored 103 runs in Perth including a half-century in the second innings is likely to bat at no.3. Rahul is unlikely to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal as skipper Rohit Sharma has joined the squad. Rohit missed the first Test as he was on paternity leave. However, if Rahul opens with Jaiswal in the second game considering their record-breaking partnership in Perth, it will be a huge call.
Things will be more clear after the practice game. Rohit is likely to get some game time in Canberra as he was not part of the match simulations. It will help the 37-year-old adapt to the conditions.
Meanwhile, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has returned home due to personal reasons. Gambhir will be unavailable for the practice game as well. However, he is likely to join the squad before the second Test of the series next month.
India's Test squad for Australia
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Sarfaraz Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, Abhimanyu Easwaran
