India batter Shubman Gill is doubtful to participate in the second Test against Australia, starting from December 6 in Adelaide. Gill previously missed the series opener due to a thumb injury sustained during the intra-squad practice match at the WACA Ground. Before the Adelaide Oval contest, the Indian team will play the Australia Prime Minister’s XI in a pink-ball practice game starting Saturday in Canberra. According to a report in the Times of India, Gill is set to miss the match at Manuka Oval while his participation in Adelaide also remains an uncertainty.
Gill has been advised two weeks of rest and will need to play a few matches before being considered for selection. Rehabilitation was advised for Gill after suffering injuries.
“Gill was recommended 10-14 days’ rest by the medical authority following his injury. He won’t be playing in this weekend practice match, and the second Test is also not sounding good to him as of now. Let’s see how much of that injury has healed, how the finger feels. Even after it is healed, he’ll need some serious good practice before playing a Test match,” the report claimed.
It also claimed that pace shahar Mahmood is less likely to be making his way to Australia very soon. Shami was making his way back to action after undergoing surgery for a long-term knee injury. There are rumors on the social network that the pacer may soon be leaving for Down Under.
“There has been no conversation around trying to send Shami to Australia, atleast for now. At the moment, the fast bowlers chosen for the tour and the first XI in the opening Test at Perth are doing their job very well,” the report added.
In the meantime, the India XI for the second Test against Australia to be played in Adelaide would have Rohit Sharma coming in place of young Devdutt Padikkal, but what everyone would be waiting for is to see where in-form KL Rahul bats in the pink-ball warm-up game in Canberra.
It all depends on if injured Shubman Gill is fit to play in the match, in which case Rahul may bat at number three instead of Padikkal. However, there is a school of thought that believes the team might be served better if Rohit bats in the middle order-preferably at number five or six.
Rahul was the makeshift opener due to the absence of Rohit when going into the opening Test at Perth.
Yet, technically speaking, he was the most compact batsman among all Indian batsmen across two innings at Optus Stadium, scoring 26 and then balancing it with 77.