ESPNcricinfo reports that India batsman Shubman Gill is probably going to miss the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) against Australia in Perth.
Gill suffered a left-hand injury while fielding in the slips earlier on Saturday, according to ESPNCricinfo, and was unable to return for the second day of the intra-squad game. Whether the injury would affect his availability for the first Test match at Optus Stadium is yet unknown.
Although Gill’s injury has not been officially confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he is expected to miss the forthcoming Test match against Australia.
Gill scored 28 runs in his opening inning of the simulation match before being caught at gully off a delivery from Navdeep Saini. On 42*, he went back to the crease and was still undefeated. The young batter will want to play like Cheteshwar Pujara, who was renowned for using his strong defence to wear down Australian spinners.
Gill has amassed 926 runs at an average of 42.09 in 14 games while batting at number three. He has three hundreds and three fifties, with a high of 119. His best score this year was 119. He has amassed 806 runs at an average of 47.41 in 19 innings, including three hundreds and three fifties.
The first Test in the eagerly awaited India-Australia Border-Gavaskar series will take place in Perth on November 22.
The thrilling day-night format will be used during the second Test, which is set to take place at Adelaide Oval from December 6–10 under the stadium’s lights. Following that, supporters will focus on the third Test, which will take place at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 14 to 18.
The series will reach its concluding stage with the traditional Boxing Day Test, which will take place at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30.
The series will culminate with the fifth and final Test, which will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3–7. It promises to be a thrilling match with a dramatic ending.
The following players will represent India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant (Wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wk), and Sarfaraz Khan.