Ahead of his side’s pink-ball warm-up fixture against Australia’s Prime Minister’s XI, India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said that batter Shubman Gill is batting comfortably in the nets and an evaluation would be made by physios if he is fit enough to feature in the two-day warm-up match and the pink-ball Adelaide Test from December 6 onwards. In a positive development for India, Gill, who missed the first Test due to a thumb injury, was seen batting in nets at Canberra. In the nets, Gill was seen refining his solid defence.
After missing out on the first Test due to a thumb injury, there were positive signs as not only did Gill seem to handle his bat really well, but his defence also looked pretty solid.
Speaking in a press conference in Canberra, Nayar said about Gill, “He 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).”
Team India is currently in Canberra, where they will take on the Prime Minister’s XI in a two-day pink-ball warm-up fixture at Manuka Oval from Saturday. Through this match, Indian stars will be able to get used to the pink ball and its various tricks before taking on Australia in Adelaide for the second Test.
On being questioned about the practice session, which faced interruptions due to rain, Nayar said, “When we came here, the overcast conditions were there. It was raining as well. But players were keen to bat. There is not much difference in pink and red ball, it is a cricket ball after all. But you have to adapt to the lacquer and colour differences. We are trying to do it.”
While Australia has played more pink-ball matches, 12 as of now as compared to India’s four, Abhishek is not bothered about the vast experience his opponents have with the ball. For him, the key difference still remains the mindset with which teams go.
“While discussing, we think about ourselves more than the other. We think about what we have to do. The key difference is mindset, be it against red-ball or pink-ball. We are lucky to have so many days for preparation. We were practicing with a pink ball in Perth too,” he said.
On the arrival of skipper Rohit Sharma to the Indian team following the birth of his second child, Abhishek said that the coming of Rohit brings “fun” to the team.
“The atmosphere is nice and was nice. Even though he was not here physically, he was still there for us. There was not much difference,” he added.
On workload management of players in this long, five-Test series, Abhishek said, “We have got some rest as well. Th game got over in four days at Perth. There were three days after it, where we rested. Today, guys did not get to practice that much because of rain. We have had enough rest. The mindset is about workload management but also about honing your skills and putting your body through paces.”
While India won the first Test at Perth by 295 runs to take a 1-0 series lead and gain a massive mental edge over the Aussies, the bitter and haunting memories of the 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, which saw India get bundled out for just 36 runs, will serve as a reminder to the players and fans alike that a lot of work still needs to be done and a remarkable Australian fightback could just be around the corner. Fans would be anticipating that Team India avenges that humiliation in Adelaide four years back and strengthens its hold over the trophy.
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