Shubman Gill of India talks with Morne Morkel, bowling coach of India during an India Test Squad training session at Optus Stadium on November 20, 2024 in Perth
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Shubman Gill has been a quiet presence at the Indian team nets and much speculation has centred around his left thumb injury, suffered during a match-simulation exercise at the WACA Ground recently. Gill was at the Optus Stadium on Wednesday too while the venue geared up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy’s first Test from Friday (November 22, 2024).

While it is understood that Gill remains a doubtful starter, bowling coach Morne Morkel offered a more guarded perspective while interacting with the media. “Shubman is improving every day, obviously he picked up a nasty blow in that warm-up game. I think with him it’s going to be a day-to-day sort of process, fingers crossed for that improvement, but I think they will wait to make a call with him up until the morning of the Test match,” Morkel said.

With skipper and regular opener Rohit Sharma on a paternity break, the Indian team-management is searching for alternatives and Gill’s injury has thrown up a fresh challenge. Who will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal atop the batting tree remains a question and equally the number three slot has to be sorted if Gill is ruled out on the morning of the game. K.L. Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Devdutt Padikkal, now a part of the squad, are part of the mix, and all three had their batting stints at the nets on Wednesday.