Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the first Test between India and Australia, scheduled to begin on November 22 in Perth, after fracturing his left thumb.
The injury occurred during India’s simulated training game, where Shubman Gill hurt himself attempting a low catch in the slips on the second day. A scan on Saturday confirmed the fracture. The 24-year-old opener is racing against time to regain fitness for the second Test, a day-night match starting on December 6 in Adelaide, despite the injury being reported as minor.
Gill’s absence poses a significant challenge for India’s batting lineup, particularly with captain Rohit Sharma also unavailable for the Perth Test. This leaves the team needing to reshuffle the order, including finding a partner for Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top, a No. 3 batter, and potentially a No. 6.
India’s opening options include KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Additionally, Devdutt Padikkal, who was part of India A’s shadow tour, remains in contention after joining the senior squad.
India Faces Challenges with Rahul and Easwaran’s Form
Rahul opened the batting in the second four-day match between India A and Australia A and also participated in the simulated training game at the WACA. However, his recent form has been concerning, with scores of 4 and 10 against Australia A at the MCG. During training on Friday, Prasidh Krishna struck Rahul on the elbow with a short ball. While he skipped batting that day, he returned to the nets on Sunday.
Easwaran, meanwhile, arrived in Australia after an impressive domestic season, where he hit four centuries in as many red-ball games. However, his form dipped in the unfamiliar Australian conditions. Managing scores of 0, 17, 7, and 12 in matches against Australia A. Three of his dismissals came against pace bowlers. Including two edges and one to a bouncer, while his fourth was a run-out.
India faces a crucial task of finalizing their batting order ahead of the Perth Test as they adapt to these setbacks.
