India's No 3 Shubman Gill is racing against time to be fit for the second Test against Australia in Adelaide having missed the series opener in Perth last week. Gill suffered a finger injury during catching practice in the first couple of training days after arriving Down Under. It was a suspected fracture but thankfully, it was only sore. Gill returned to India's training a couple of days later with heavy padding on his left thumb and required a few days of recovery.
As per a report in the Times of India, Gill flew to Canberra with the team but will miss the two-day pink-ball practice match. As the Indian team left Perth, Gill wasn't seen with any bandage on his left hand. The report also stated that since Gill was advised to rest for a couple of weeks, he is in doubt for the Adelaide Test as well.
"Gill was advised a 10-14 day rest by the medical specialist after suffering that injury. He won't play in the practice match on the weekend and is doubtful at the moment for the second Test too. Let's see how much his injury has healed, how his finger feels. Even after it has healed, he'll need some quality practice before playing a Test match," a BCCI source in the know of developments was quoted as saying.
Devdutt Padikkal was added to India's squad for one match as Gill's cover since India were also without their regular skipper Rohit Sharma. With Padikkal's returns being below par, skipper Rohit is likely to slot back in at the top with KL Rahul dropping down to No 3. Rahul, who performed well in both innings including a gritty 77 in the second innings, has forced the selectors to retain him in the line-up regardless of the batting number.
Apart from that, India are unlikely to tinker with their bowling side of things. The report also provided an update on Mohammed Shami with the source mentioning that there has been no discussion regarding the pacer and flying him to Australia at this point.
Shami is currently plying his trade in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal having returned figures of 1/46, 3/21 and 0/46 in three games thus far.
