Kolkata Knight Riders’s Varun Chakaravarthy bowls during a practice session on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 cricket match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Kolkata, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK

File photo of Sitanshu Kotak.© X (formerly Twitter)

File image of Abhishek Nayar and Gautam Gambhir.© AFP

India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on Thursday defended axing Shubman Gill from the Boxing Day Test, saying it was in team’s best interest to not only have Rohit Sharma back to his usual opening slot but also add some sting to the attack by drafting in spin all-rounder Washington Sundar. Gill, who missed the first Test due to a finger injury, scored 31 and 28 in the Pink Ball Test and looked the most assured among Indian batters. He, however, got out for a duck in Brisbane. With Rohit Sharma opening the innings and KL Rahul coming at No. 3, Gill had to make way for a third specialist all-rounder in Washington.

“Yes, Rohit will come up in the order and more likely than not, he will open the innings. That was the thought process. Unfortunately for Gill, just how things spanned out, he had to miss out,” Nayar said at the end of the day’s play.

“I just feel for a young player in a position like that, a big day, he wants to make his mark. He understands it’s the team’s requirement and it’s unfortunate, but I wouldn’t say that he’s been dropped per se. It’s just unfortunate that he couldn’t find his place in this game,” the former Mumbai stalwart said but the explanation lacked conviction.

He elaborately explained why playing Washington at the MCG made sense ahead of Gill.

“A lot of the decisions when they are made, and the process of it being made, the communication is always there and transparency is there. It’s pretty obvious that we felt in these conditions, looking at the pitch, having Washy in the bowling attack will give us that variation, especially towards the end once the ball gets old,” he said.

“Post the 50 overs, we felt that was an area that we wanted to get better at. We felt Washy could give us that solidarity with Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), especially the way Travis Head and Alex Carey were getting runs lower down. So we felt having an offie in the ranks will provide us with that.”

Washington Sundar celebrates the wicket Marnus Labuschagne on day 1 of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne on December 26, 2024.
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Minutes before the fourth Test commenced at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on Thursday (December 26, 2024), India stirred the news with some radical selection calls. Shubman Gill was dropped, Washington Sundar was preferred and there were hints about Rohit Sharma surfacing in the top-order.

After the first day’s play, it was assistant coach Abhishek Nayar’s turn to offer his rationale behind India’s choices: “Looking at these conditions and the pitch, having Washi in the bowling attack will give us that variation, especially when the ball gets old. After the 50 overs, we felt that was an area we wanted to get better at. We felt Washi could give us that solidarity with Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), especially with Travis Head and Alex Carey getting runs lower down.”

Explaining further, Nayar said: “Rohit will come up in the order and more likely than not, he will open the innings. Unfortunately for Gill, he had to miss out. He understands it’s the team’s requirement and it’s unfortunate, but I wouldn’t say that he has been dropped. It’s just unfortunate that he couldn’t find his place in this game.”

Nayar then acted coy when asked about the episode involving Virat Kohli and debutant Sam Konstas: “Honestly, I don’t know. We were having a conversation outside. I am not aware of what happened, why it happened and if anything happened. But when you play a game like that, there will be emotions, but I am pretty sure that it’s not as big as it seems.”

Konstas drew praise too when Nayar added: “We saw him in the Prime Minister’s XI game when he got a 100 against us. We knew what we were up against. It’s always refreshing to see someone come and play good cricket, whether that’s our team or the opposition. So, credit to him.”

File photo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.© BCCI

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.

India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. FIle
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

A nip in the air was obvious and while the Indians wound up their training, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, clad in a pullover and with hands dug into his pockets, spoke about the ‘sweet-headache’ associated with the team. With Rohit Sharma back and Shubman Gill revealing signs of recovery from his left thumb injury, the question was centred around the selection headaches in the forthcoming Tests.

After a prefatory ‘mike check, may the sun shine on all of us’ prelude at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Friday (November 29, 2024), Nayar said: “It is a sweet headache. It’s always good to be in a position where you get two top players coming back into your set-up. It builds a lot of confidence. It is good to have them (Rohit and Gill) back. The team is full of heart.”

However, be it the last word on Gill’s fitness or Rohit’s probable slot in the playing eleven, Nayar remained guarded. He, though, was happy with the manner in which the Indians trained: “It was raining but the good thing is that everyone was keen to play. Even in the rain, everyone batted. Whether it’s a pink ball or a red ball, there’s not much difference. We are trying to adapt to the colour and the extra lacquer on the ball in this (warm-up) game.”

On monitoring the bowlers’ workload through a long series, Nayar emphasised that after the early closure of the Perth Test, there was adequate rest: “The game got over in four days and we got three days after that. Today, the guys didn’t bowl much because of the weather. We will obviously sit and plan.”

As for the tough selection call of dropping R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja at Perth, Nayar said that as professionals the duo understood the team’s needs: “When you have seniors like Jaddu and Ash, who understand what the team is trying to do, it becomes very easy because of the team first policy. The culture of this team is that everyone wants ‘Team India’ to win.”

The centre-wicket match simulation at WACA ground has served its purpose as the Indian team got what it wanted ahead of the opening Test against Australia, believed Abhishek Nayar and Morne Morkel, the two lieutenants of head coach Gautam Gambhir. The focus was on getting acclimatised to the conditions after the visitors had decided to scrap the intra-squad game with India ‘A’ team at the expense of match simulation. “Just before we came to Australia, Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir), Rohit (Sharma), we discussed what we wanted out of these three days, and the idea was to try and make sure that one, for the younger guys and also the experienced guys, to give them a lot of time in the centre to adapt, to understand conditions,” Nayar said in a BCCI video.

“We are coming and playing Test cricket (here) after, you know, four years. So initially, we got the guys to come in and had it like a game where you got out, if you got out, you got out.”

“But then, we tried to give them another chance, and we felt that second time around, the guys adapted better, they understood the conditions better, and were a lot more comfortable. We got what we wanted out of it.”

The five-match series between the two heavyweights of world cricket begins at the Optus Stadium here from November 22.

Nayar added, “Day two was quite similar, where we then also were using the facilities outside, getting the nets in, the quantity and the quality down in the centre.

“Day two was about our bowlers coming in and bowling spells, getting up the workloads, bowling 15 overs each, you know, Bumrah’s bowled 18, a couple of others bowled 18. So, it’s just more about getting guys into the game sense.”

Analysing the bowlers’ performance during training, India’s bowling coach Morné Morkel expressed his satisfaction with them.

“Very happy with how the bowlers went. They summed up conditions very well. Yeah, I think we’re on track for the 22nd. So, another three training sessions left,” he stated.

“We’ll sit down this afternoon or tomorrow and start planning, looking at game plans and how we’re going to bring out the best and edge in everyone for game time on 22nd.”

‘Siraj’s got a big heart, aggressive mindset’

As Jasprit Bumrah takes on the dual role of spearheading the pace attack and leading the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, his colleague Mohammed Siraj will be expected to provide him much-needed support when he operating with both new and old ball.

Siraj finished as the highest wicket-taker during the 2020-21 Test tour of Australia, bagging 13 wickets in three matches at an average of 29.53, including a five-for.

“This man (Siraj) is a legend. He’s got a big heart, aggressive mindset, one of the leaders of the attack and I’m very excited to see how he goes on this tour,” Morkel said.

“Last year, he was the go-to man in tough situations, and we’re excited to see more of that senior role coming out on a very important tour,” he signed off. 

The Indian cricket team stars toiled in a 3-day simulation game against India A that saw all of the top stars like Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, etc. getting into action. While the first day featured a real cricketing contest, the second day had a mix of both a game and net sessions. The struggles of batters like Kohli, Gill, Pant, etc. became public as pacers ran riot in the practice game. Kohli, in fact, had to bat twice on the same day after getting dismissed for 15 on the first day. India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has explained the rationale behind the structure that was created for the simulation game at WACA.

In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on social media, Nayar explained the crux of the discussion held by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma for the practice routine. It was then the decision to give players maximum time in the middle was taken.

“Just before we came to Australia, Gauti bhai and Rohit had a discussion about what we wanted from these three days. The idea was to make sure that the experienced and younger guys got a lot of time in the center to adapt and understand the conditions. We are coming here and playing Test cricket after 4 years,” Nayar said in the BCCI video.

Kohli scored 15 and 30 not-out in the two outings he had. The initial idea was to get a game-like situation where a batter goes back if he goes out. But, Nayar revealed that the rules changed later on.

“Initially, we got the guys to come in, had it like a game, where you got out, you got out. But then we tired to give them another chance and we felt that second time around, the guys adapted better, understood the conditions better, were a lot for comfortable,” he added.

On the second day, India’s mainstream bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, etc. bowled the maximum, getting into the rhythm ahead of the Perth Test.

“Day 2 was quite similar where we were also using the facilities outside in the nets, getting the quantity and quality down in the center. Day 2 was about our bowlers coming and bowling spells, bowling 15 overs each, Boom (Bumrah) bowled 18 overs. It was about getting the guys into game sense,” he revealed.