Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Blow for India as Shubman fractures left thumb, all but out of Perth Test
India were dealt a telling blow on Saturday after star top-order batter Shubman Gill sustained a left thumb fracture which is likely to rule him out of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting November 22.
Gill, one of the young heroes of India’s last Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph, is a batting mainstay and in case skipper Rohit Sharma opts out of the first Test, India’s top-order could look very thin.
Gill got hurt while fielding on the second day of the intra-squad match simulation. He was seen in considerable pain and immediately left the field for further scans.
According to a BCCI source privy to the development, Gill has indeed fractured his left thumb and with less than a week left for the Test to start, it will be near impossible for the right-hander to get fit in time for the opening match. A thumb fracture generally takes around 14 days to heal after which one is expected to start his regular net sessions. Since the second Test in Adelaide starts from December 6, there remains a possibility that he will get fit in time for that match.
Gill’s absence could be massive for the national team as he is not only a stable No. 3 batter but in case of Rohit’s absence, he could be considered for opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The other man in contention, KL Rahul, has a bruised elbow after getting hit by a Prasidh Krishna short ball on the opening day of the intra-squad match and was forced to leave the field.
Rahul’s bruised area needed icing and he didn’t take the field on the second day of the match simulation on Saturday although it is being seen more as a precautionary measure.
In case Gill is absent, Abhimanyu Easwaran could be in line for his Test debut as India do not have too many options left. However, if skipper Rohit, who was blessed with a baby boy on Friday night, decides to join forces with three days of training, then it would be a different story.
Shami completes comeback with 7 wickets
Indore: Mohammed Shami bowled 43.2 overs, took seven wickets and made a quickfire 36 runs on his First-Class comeback to not only assure his boarding pass for the Australia series Down Under but also guide Bengal to their first victory of this Ranji Trophy season against old nemesis Madhya Pradesh. In the last 15 years, Bengal have always come a cropper against Madhya Pradesh. But the presence of Shami certainly lifted the team’s morale as Bengal defended a 338-run target by bowling out the hosts for 326 in the post-lunch session here on Saturday to clinch six points with an 11-run victory. Shami bowling 19 and 24.2 overs across two innings and his crucial cameo in the second essay will certainly please national selector Ajay Ratra. The six-seven over spells that he bowled wouldn’t have gone unnoticed as far as NCA’s medical team head Nitin Patel is concerned.
