Australia November 29, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau) – Star Indian middle-order batter Shubman Gill, who missed the first Test of the ongoing five-match series between India and Australia in Perth due to a thumb injury, was seen batting in the nets in Canberra on Friday (November 29) ahead of Team India’s two-day pink-ball warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval.
Ahead of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will be played with a pink ball from December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, Indian players will face the Prime Minister’s XI in a two-day warm-up match that starts on Saturday (November 30).
In several videos going viral on the internet, Gill can be seen facing Yash Dayal and Akash Deep in the nets and looked comfortable while facing them.
According to the latest available information, Gill is expected to be part of India’s playing XI in Adelaide after showing enough signs of a full recovery from a thumb injury that ruled him out of the first Test, which India won by 295 runs at Optus Stadium on Monday (November 25).
In the absence of Gill, who has scored three centuries for India in 2024, Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal came out to bat at No. 3 in the first Test, but he could only manage to score 0 and 25 runs in two innings.
While Gill is expected to return to India’s playing XI for the second Test, it is not guaranteed that the 25-year-old right-handed batter will bat at his usual No. 3 position. There is a high possibility that KL Rahul, who scored 77 runs in the second innings of the Perth Test, will be asked by the team management to bat at No. 3, and Gill will then come to bat at No. 5.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who missed the first Test in Perth due to delayed arrival in Australia after birth of his second child on November 15, is all set to open the innings in Adelaide with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Jaiswal, who is playing his first Test series against Australia these days, hammered 161 runs in the second innings of the series opener played at Perth to set up India’s biggest Test win by runs in Australia.