Border-Gavaskar Trophy: India not ruling out Gill playing in series opener

India will give Shubman Gill every chance to prove his fitness to start the opening Test against Australia with the batsman showing improvement after fracturing his left thumb, bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Wednesday.

Gill, 25, sustained the injury while fielding at slip last week as India were gearing up for the match, which starts on Friday, with squad sessions instead of a tour game against a local side.

“Shubman is improving every day. Obviously he picked up a nasty blow in that intra-squad warm-up game. I think with him it’s going to be a day-to-day process,” Morkel told reporters.

“Fingers crossed for that improvement. We’ll wait to take a call on him up until the morning of the Test match.”

With skipper Rohit Sharma set to miss the match following the birth of his second child, Gill’s absence could heap more pressure on India’s less experienced batsmen on fiery Australian pitches but Morkel backed them to rise to the occasion.

“It’s going to be great learning for these young guys, who can front up against a quality Test bowling attack. Australia aren’t going to bowl you many bad balls,” Morkel said. “But in saying that there’s good leadership within the group that can help and settle the nerves with that. As a group, we’re all excited for the challenge.”

Seamer Mohammed Shami is not part of the squad for the five-match series having only returned to action this month after suffering an ankle injury at last year’s 50-overs World Cup and a knee issue during his recovery.

The 34-year-old claimed seven wickets in a domestic match last week but will not be rushed back to national duty. “We’re definitely keeping a close eye on Shami. He’s a world class bowler,” Morkel said. “We need to understand he’s been out of the game for almost a year. We have to respect him and his body. It’s a massive win that he’s back playing and picking up wickets.”

Pitch preparation hit by rain

WACA head curator Isaac McDonald said the unusual rain in Perth has impacted the pitch preparation for the first Test. The surface at the Optus Stadium or at the nearby WACA ground is known for its pace and bounce and when the cracks open up in dry conditions, it provides more assistance to the seamers besides bringing the spinners into play.

The city has witnessed rain over the past few days and the pitch was covered for the whole day on Tuesday. The pitch is likely to retain moisture come match day, effectively ruling out the possibility of major deterioration over the course of five days.

“I don’t think the weather is going to make this pitch fall apart. There’ll be some deterioration, grass will stand up during the game and offer that variable bounce but in terms of big snake WACA cracks,” said the head curator.