In the intra-squad training game ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Shubman Gill scored a century at the Tuks Oval, Centurion on December 21. Gill came to bat at no.3 and scored a century on Day 2 of the three-day preparatory game. In a good sign ahead of the Test series opener, Gill was not troubled by anyone in the bowling attack.
The Tuks Oval in Pretoria is a 45-minute drive away from the Supersport Park in Centurion where the Rohit Sharma-led side will go up against the Proteas. The game took place behind closed doors as even the media was not allowed to watch the team practice.
Head coach Rahul Dravid even had match simulations a few days ahead of the first Test. The decision has been taken to not give away the strategies that will be put in place against Temba Bavuma-led side.
Apart from Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a half-century. The young left-handed batter had to retire out to make way for other batters to get some practice.
Gill is due for a big knock in the Test format. In the two-Test series against West Indies when he replaced Cheteshwar Pujara as the no.3 batter, he failed to score a half-century on the Caribbean soil. After a poor run in the T20I series in the rainbow nation, Gill will have a point to prove in the red-ball format.
Earlier this week, Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the Test series due to an injury. Also, Ishan Kishan pulled out of the Test series and KS Bharat was named as his replacement. Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered a finger injury which ruled him out of the third and final ODI of the series. In his absence, Rajat Patidar got his debut gap. Gaikwad is likely to be unavailable for selection due to the finger injury.
Going into the Test series, India are on the top of the World Test Championship (2023-25) table with one win and one draw on the Caribbean tour.
India Test Squad v South Africa:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat.
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