Abhishek Nayar gives a positive update on Shubman Gill as India step up their practice for the warm-up game.
Abhishek Nayar has given a positive update on Shubman Gill’s availability for the second test.
The young batter was ruled out of the Perth test due to a finger injury while fielding in the simulations.
But his recent stint at the nets has led to Nayar issuing a positive update on his fitness.
Gill started his session with throwdowns from up close. He then graduated to facing them off the sidearm for a while. He then capped it off by fronting up against Akash Deep and Yash Dayal at full speed.
“He’s batting right now and our physio will evaluate him and I will know his status after that.” Abhishek Nayar said on Friday afternoon. “But from what I have seen, he is looking comfortable batting and he looks like he can bat [in a match]. He is batting in the indoor nets and we will know if he can play the practice match or not.”
India’s batters got long sessions to get used to the pink ball and all the mischief it is capable of. Yashasvi Jaiswal barely figured out what shot to play when he was rapped on the pads and he hated it. This is the magnitude of the challenge against the pink ball that India face. Day-night Test matches are sometimes bowler-dominated affairs, especially in Australia.
“Whether it’s a pink ball or a red ball, the difference is really in the mind.” Nayar said. “Of course, there is a bit of difference between the two. The colour is different, there is more lacquer. We are lucky that we have got six-eight days to get ready. When we were in Perth, too, we were training with the pink ball. Rohit [Sharma] was training [with the pink ball] too. So we have started our preparations. We will continue to focus on our game, and do what we need to do.”