No fracture! Shubman Gill's India playing XI inclusion confirmed ahead of Perth Test

On November 19, a piece of positive news came out of the Indian camp ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 regarding the injury sustained by the young batting sensation Shubman Gill.

According to a report, the 25-year-old Shubman Gill hasn't fractured his thumb and will very soon be fit and ready to go for the five-match Test series against Australia National Cricket Team.

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What happened to Shubman Gill?

On Saturday, November 16, several media outlets reported that Shubman Gill had sustained a serious injury that will keep him out of a few matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

It was reported that Gill sustained an injury to his left thumb while fielding in the slips during the match simulation against India A and he was in pain after the incident.

The BCCI medical team instantly sent him for the scans, and it was reported that he had sustained a fracture on his left thumb.

A thumb fracture takes approximately 14 days to heal, and there were expectations that he may get fit in time for the second Test, which is scheduled to be played in Adelaide on December 6.

'There is no fracture; it’s a tiny tissue'

On Tuesday, November 19, RevSportz journalist Rohit Juglan provided positive news about Shubman Gill.

He revealed that the batter hadn't fractured his thumb and just a tiny tissue had been affected. Shubman Gill will reportedly become fully fit to compete within a week and will be participating in the tour game against Prime Minister's XI, which means Shubman Gill will skip just the first Test in Perth and will be ready for the last four matches.

The tour game between India and the Prime Minister's XI is scheduled to start on November 30 at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

"Update on Shubhman Gill - There is no fracture; it’s a tiny tissue which has been affected, and that tissue is directly involved with the grip. Max time it will take is 1 week, likely to be part of that Canberra game if not than it will be precautionary one ," the RevSportz journalist wrote on X.

Update on Shubhman Gill -
There is no fracture; it’s a tiny tissue which has been affected, and that tissue is directly involved with the grip
Max time it will take is 1 week, likely to be part of that Canberra game if not than it will be precautionary one #ShubhmanGill… pic.twitter.com/i0OG6G2Thb

— रोहित जुगलान Rohit Juglan (@rohitjuglan) November 19, 2024

I prefer playing matches, even if it’s a two-day game or a three-day game - Ravi Shastri

India have faced heavy criticism from several experts for not playing any warm-up matches ahead of the commencement of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the latest to join the bandwagon is Ravi Shastri.

The former India head coach was critical of India skipping warm-ups and said that the Indian team should have played at least one full-fledged warm-up match heading into the five-match Test series.

“It’s always, ‘how strong will the opposition be?’ That’s the first question you ask (planning a tour game). I prefer playing matches, even if it’s a two-day game or a three-day game. With the time India had, they might have thought of that, but at the end of the day, it’s the team management who understands best," Shastri said (via The West Australian).

“They know how tired the players are – they’ve just come off a series against New Zealand, they’ve played some one-day cricket as well, so they thought this was the best preparation … time will tell," Shastri added.

Notably, India were scheduled to play an intra-squad match against India A, but it was canceled and replaced with a match simulation.