AUS vs IND: Shubman Gill ‘happy’ with injury recovery, geared for Adelaide Test

Shubman Gill was delighted as he returned to the nets after recovering from a thumb injury that he sustained during India’s match simulation at the WACA. The right-handed batter missed the opening Test at the Perth Stadium, which India won by 295 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Gill has over a week to get fully fit before the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval gets underway on December 6. The youngster took throwdowns, after which India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate helped him with his defence.

“It was my first day, and I was just trying to get a feel to be honest, see how the injury is reacting if there was any kind of soreness. But it actually went much better than what I and Kamlesh bhai expected. I am very happy with that,” Gill said in a video uploaded by BCCI.

Gill made his Test debut on the 2020-21 tour of Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. While he also played the Brisbane Test, he missed out on playing at the Optus Stadium. After again not being able to play in Perth, Gill was dejected, but he was also happy India registered a comprehensive win.

“When I got to know about my injury, for the first couple of days, I was quite low and disappointed. Perth was the only venue where I didn’t play when we came the last time and I was looking forward to playing there at such an iconic venue. The way we played that game, at the end of the day, I was very happy,” Gill added.

If Gill plays the first Test, there is a chance that the axe might come down on Dhruv Jurel, who failed in the Perth Test. In three Tests on Australian soil thus far, Gill has scored 259 runs at an average of 51.80 with a top score of 91 at the Gabba.