India batter Shubman Gill in the nets in Canberra. (Image: X/BCCI)

In an encouraging sign for India ahead of the second Test, the pink-ball contest in Adelaide from Dec 6, India’s No. 3 batter Shubman Gill returned to the India nets on Friday, showing signs of recovery from a thumb injury that ruled him out of the Perth series opener.
Gill was seen facing India’s second-string pacers Yash Dayal and Akash Deep in Canberra on Friday. “I was just trying to get a feel to be honest, see how the injury is reacting, if any kind of soreness is there but it went much better than what I and Kamlesh (Jain, physio) expected. Very happy with that,” Gill said in a video posted by BCCI on X after the training session.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
However, according to a reliable source, Gill’s participation in the second Test remains in doubt, as he’s racing against time to be fit. The batter could likely miss India’s pink-ball warm-up game against Australian PM’s XI starting Saturday in Canberra.
“Gill was advised a two-week rest by the medical specialist after suffering the injury to his thumb. Today was just about how he ‘feels’ the ball while batting in the nets. He’s desperate to return and contribute to the team. While he’s likely to miss the warm-up match from Saturday and is still doubtful for the second Test, he’ll certainly be back from the third Test onwards,” a BCCI source told TOI.

Recently, former Mumbai and India selector Jatin Paranjape had told TOI, “Injuries like the one he has suffered to the thumb, take two to four weeks to heal, so don’t be surprised if he misses two to three Test matches.”
In Canberra on Friday, Indian team’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said, “Gill is batting and the evaluation will be done by physios. He looked comfortable while batting. I do not know if he will feature (in the warm-up match).”
In Gill’s absence, India played Devdutt Padikkal at the No. 3 spot in the Perth Test, but the left-hander was out for 0 & 25 in India’s 295-run win.
Gill was naturally disappointed about getting injured, but India’s special performance cheered him up. “Any ball when it hits the middle of the bat, the feeling that you get, that is the feeling I play for. When I got to know about my injury, I was quite low. Perth is the only venue we did not play last time around (2020-21). But the way we played at the end of it, I was very happy,” the batter added in the video.
India would want Gill to recover soon, considering that a No. 3 batsman is crucial to any batting line-up, especially on a fiveTest tour of Australia. Gill has the special ability to anchor the innings with his solid defence, and can attack the bowling when needed too. Importantly, the Punjab man enjoyed a good time during India’s last tour of Australia in 2020-21, scoring 259 runs in three Tests at 51.80, including a crucial 91 in the historic chase in the fourth Test at the Gabba.
Having scored 926 runs, including three hundreds at the No. 3 spot at 47-plus average, Gill has done well to fill the big shoes of Cheteshwar Pujara in that position. He has also scored 874 runs as an opener in 29 innings. In the 27 Tests that he has featured in, Gill has batted on only two positions — opening and one-down.