Shubman Gill hurt his finger while fielding at the slips against India A. On Day 2 of the match preparation on Saturday, the Indian squad had yet another injury scare. His injury is a major setback for the Indian team, who had previously experienced a fright with a rising Prasidh Krishna delivery on Friday that struck KL Rahul in the elbow. The BCCI will have plenty of time to keep an eye on.
Before the first Test begins on November 22, Gill’s injury is a big concern. But there are still six days left until it begins. In addition to batting at number three, he was been considered as a backup for the opening position alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal if Rohit Sharma is unable to play in the first Test due to the birth of his second child. He began his career as an opener in the format.
But vacated the place in favour of Yashasvi Jaiswal. There was no information from the team on the extent of the injury. The potential absence of Rahul and Gill from the first Test could weaken India’s batting line-up. In that case, we take a look at the possible Shubman Gill replacements that are lined up for the Men in Blue in Perth Test.
Here are the 3 players used as Shubman Gill’s replacement
3. Ruturaj Gaikwad
The Mumbai batter has recently served as a team leader. He captained the rest of the Indian squad in the Irani Trophy after serving as captain of one team in the Duleep Trophy. He hasn’t received a national call-up, though, since the Zimbabwe T20I series.
Although he has not yet made his Test cricket debut, he performed well on that tour as well, hitting runs at various places. With Gill injured he has the experience of batting at No.3 Gaikwad can replace the young batter at Perth.
2. Devdutt Padikkal
The left-handed batter was a part of India A in Australia and will remain with the Test team. However, it was unclear whether Padikkal would be in the starting lineup or the reserves. He has performed well in the domestic format.
Since making his debut against England at home he has not featured in any test for the Men in Blue. The youngster played just one innings during that series and scored a solid 65. Even in the series vs Australia A, the Karnataka batter got good starts and scored 88 in the first fixture in Mackay. He can be a good option at No.3.
1. Sai Sudarshan
The Southpaw was India A’s No.3 in the games against Australia A and scored a hundred in the second outing. The Tamil Nadu batter scored a double hundred in the Ranji Trophy before the India A games, and also scored a hundred in the Duleep Trophy and for Surrey in the English County circuit.
Although the first Test is still a ways off, the management is probably going to call up the India A players in the coming hours because they were initially supposed to depart the nation on November 17, the day the match simulation drills concluded.
