India ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill suffered an injury scare during Friday’s (September 25) training session in Thiruvananthapuram, just two days before the first ODI against West Indies. The right-handed batter was struck on his right elbow while facing Mohammed Siraj in the nets and had to cut short his batting session.
Gill was taking on Siraj when a delivery that climbed off the surface hit him on the right elbow. The India captain immediately moved away from the nets in discomfort and was attended to by the team’s physiotherapist.
Siraj was among the first to check on Gill, while Virat Kohli, who was batting in the adjacent net, also came over to see if the captain was okay. Gill was later seen sitting down while holding his elbow as the support staff strapped his hand.
The 26-year-old did not return to batting for the remainder of the session and instead focused on his recovery. However, there appeared to be some relief later in the training session, with Gill seen in better spirits and joking around with Gurnoor Brar before eventually leaving the ground.
Gill now has a day and a half to recover before India take on West Indies in the opening game of the three-match ODI series on Sunday. The latest injury scare is also reminiscent of an incident from India’s recent Test assignment in Sri Lanka, where Gill was hit on his ring finger during a net session. He recovered in time to play both Tests.
Prior to Friday’s incident, Gill had looked comfortable during his batting stint. He arrived early for training and shared the nets with senior batters Kohli and Rohit Sharma, along with Ruturaj Gaikwad.
The India captain was beaten a couple of times outside the off stump by Nitish Kumar Reddy, who managed to generate good bounce. However, Gill looked assured against Gurnoor Brar and played several crisp drives to the boundary before his session was brought to an early end by the blow from Siraj.
India have had to deal with several injury concerns throughout the year. Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar have all missed games during or around the team’s limited-overs tour of England. While Bumrah and Reddy have since returned to the setup, Hardik Pandya and Rana remain unavailable.
Ideal to have strongest possible XI: Morkel
Speaking about India’s injury situation, bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted that the team would ideally like to have its strongest possible XI available but acknowledged that injuries are an unavoidable part of professional cricket.
“Obviously, you want to have your strongest and, condition-wise, the best XI on the field. Sadly, it’s part of the game that the guys got injured at times where we didn’t ideally want them to fall injured,” Morkel said, as quoted by Cricinfo.
However, Morkel also pointed out that India’s squad has enough depth to deal with such setbacks and that injuries can open the door for other players to make their mark.
“But luckily, we’ve got fantastic backup in the wings, and it’s a great opportunity for the guys to go and play a game for India, to make a name for themselves and to compete,” he added.
Morkel also hoped that India can move past their injury troubles as the year progresses.
“But ideally, hopefully we can get all the injuries out of the way and later down the year we’ll be fine, and we can take it on from there,” the bowling coach concluded.
India will face West Indies in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, September 27.
