Who will replace Shubman Gill in the Indian team?Image credit source: AFP
The Indian team’s Australian tour has so far only extended to practice matches, but their problems show no signs of ending. At least in the first Test match of the series, the Indian team will have to face difficult conditions because some of their major problems will be resolved in the second Test. Captain Rohit Sharma’s absence for the Perth Test has already posed a challenge for the Indian team in choosing the opening pair, now the injury to star batsman Shubman Gill has multiplied this problem. Until now it was a matter of taking Rohit’s place at the opener, now the challenge of replacing Shubman Gill at the number three spot has also come to the fore.
Shubman Gill out of Perth Test
Team India has been practicing at the WACA ground since arriving in Perth. Here, the Indian team had started the match simulation practice from Thursday, November 14, in which all the batsmen including Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal looked worried but the real problem came in the form of injuries to the players. On the second day, KL Rahul was hit on the elbow by the ball and did not return to training, but the real stress was added to by Shubman Gill, who injured the thumb of his left hand while fielding. the slips on the third day of practice. According to reports, he has a fracture in his thumb and has therefore been ruled out of the Perth Test.
Will Abhimanyu Easwaran’s luck change?
Now the question is who will take Gill’s place? Team India definitely has some options and if we assume that in the first Test, KL Rahul will have the responsibility of opening along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, then the first and most direct option is available for Team India. These options are: Abhimanyu Easwaran. The experienced right-handed batsman from Bengal was included in the team as a substitute opener to Rohit Sharma, but his performance in the two unofficial Test matches played by India A was very poor. In such a situation, the chances of the 29-year-old batsman making his Test debut as an opener seemed slim, but now Gill’s injury has opened a door for him.
Easwaran, who scored 7674 runs in 101 first-class matches, may get a chance to make his Test debut in Perth, but this debut may also prove very difficult for him. In the absence of Rohit and Gill, India’s elite team will surely be weak as Yashasvi Jaiswal is also playing in Australia for the first time. The team has batsmen like Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in which only Jurel seems fit to bat at number three but the team would like to field him at number five or six just because he has shown that he has the ability to bat with the order lower.
Sudarshan can also debut
Now, if the team management does not believe in Easwaran’s ability even in India A and practice matches, they may have to take some surprising decisions. A report claims that the Indian team also asked Sai Sudarshan and Devdutt Padikkal to stay. Both batsmen were part of India A and played good innings against Australia A. Padikkal made his Test debut against England earlier this year and played an innings of 65 runs. In the first Test against Australia A, he played innings of 36 and 88 runs. He didn’t seem too worried in the Australian camp. At the same time, 23-year-old left-handed batsman Sai Sudarshan also scored a brilliant century in the first Test for India A. However, he was bowled out for 0.3 in the second Test. In such a situation, eyes will be on whether Sai Sudarshan gets a chance to debut or not.
