India will begin their tour of Australia with the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22. Before the opener, India dealt a blow cricket-news/shubman-gill-hurts-finger-during-match-simulation-against-india-a-doubtful-for-perth-test/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Shubman Gill broke his thumb while training in the nets at the WACA Ground. Furthermore, India is also likely to be without the services of their captain Rohit Sharma.
While Rohit and his wife Ritika Sajdeh welcomed their second child, the cricketer has reportedly sought permission from the Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI) to skip the Perth Test. On the other hand, Gill's availability also looks bleak with the injury a concern. To deal with the defeat, the BCCI has asked Devdutt Padikkal, who was touring Australia with India A for two four-day matches, to stay in Australia while the rest of the India A team returned to the subcontinent.
According to TOI, Padikkal will replace Gill in the starting XI in the first Test against Australia. Furthermore, a source also revealed that Harshit Rana is ready to make his Test debut for India in the first Test. It added that Rana was impressive with his bouncers in the intra-squad match simulation. For the uninitiated, with Rohit unavailable, Jasprit Bumrah is all set to lead the Indian team against the Australians in Perth.
“He [cricket-players/devdutt-padikkal/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Padikkal] will probably end up in third place now. Harshit was very impressive in the match simulation in Perth, especially when bowling his bouncers. “There is a good chance he will make his India debut in Perth,” said a source quoted by TOI.
Also check: Nitish Kumar Reddy will make his Test debut against Perth
It is worth mentioning that Padikkal appeared in four innings for India A against Australia A. The Karnataka batsman scored 38, 88, 26 and 1 in the unofficial Tests. He has also been named in the Karnataka squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scheduled to begin on November 23.
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