canberra
Shubman Gill, who was out of the Perth Test against Australia due to a thumb injury, practiced in the nets with the Indian team on Friday after getting fit. Gill’s absence was not felt in the first Test as India won by 295 runs. However, considering his excellent form on the last tour, the team needs him.
The top-order batsmen faced the balls of Yash Dayal and Akash Deep in the nets. India has to play a practice match against Australian Prime Minister’s XI from tomorrow. Gill said in a video posted by BCCI on Twitter after the practice session, ‘I was able to see how much I have recovered from the injury. There is no swelling of any kind but the recovery is better than what I and Kamlesh Bhai (Kamlesh Jain, Physio) expected. I am very happy.’
Disappointed at being left out of the first Test, Gill said, ‘The experience of hitting every ball with the bat is great and I play for that. When I came to know about the injury, the first few days were very disappointing. He said, ‘We did not play in Perth last time during the 2020-21 tour. It is a wonderful ground and I was very happy with the team’s performance.
In the absence of Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, who came at number three, could not make an impact. However, Gill may be in the middle order instead of the top order as KL Rahul had done well opening the innings in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Rohit will now open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, due to which Rahul can come in at number three and Gill at number five.