How severe is Indian batter Shubman Gill's thumb injury?
Indian cricketer Shubman Gill's thumb injury isn't as serious as feared, with reports confirming that there is no fracture. The batsman had suffered the injury during a fielding drill in India's practice session. Despite the setback, he is expected to make a comeback for the second Test against Australia Down Under. However, Gill will likely miss the first Test in Perth due to his injury.
Gill's injury details and recovery timeline
Rev Sportz has claimed that Gill's injury is of minor tissue damage, but no fracture to his thumb. He missed practice on Tuesday as the rest of the side trained in Perth. A source had earlier told The Indian Express about the severity of his injury and estimated a recovery period of at least two weeks, ruling him out for the first Test match.
Team selection challenges and potential replacements
After Gill's surprise injury, India summoned Padikkal from their A team Down Under. Notably, Padikkal batted with the first group during Tuesday morning's training session. Although the left-hander was a bit inconsistent, he finished his session on a high with a cracking cut shot against the spinners. In his last outing against Australia A in Mackay, Padikkal scored 124 runs off 276 balls across two innings at number four.
What about the middle order?
Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant will bat at number four and five respectively, while Sarfaraz Khan and Jurel will battle it out for number six. Although Sarfaraz was backed in India's recent home Test season, Jurel batted in Tuesday's training session, as per ESPNcricinfo. His decision-making under pressure, along with his twin fifties at the Melbourne Cricket Ground earlier this month, make him a strong candidate for the Perth Test.
India's Probable XI for 1st Test
Probable XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dhruv Jurel/Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
