Colombo, Aug 7 (IANS) India captain Shubman Gill will not take the field on day one of the three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) XI after sustaining an impact injury to his right ring finger during a practice session, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Friday.
In Gill’s absence, vice-captain KL Rahul has stepped up to lead the side after SLC XI won the toss and elected to bat first. “Captain Shubman Gill sustained an impact injury to his right ring finger during India’s practice on Thursday.
“As a precautionary measure, he will not take the field on Day 1 of the warm-up game against SLC XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” the BCCI said in a statement shortly after the coin toss.
Reduced from four days to three, the warm-up fixture marks a critical preparation window for India ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka starting on August 15 in Galle. The match offers India, who last played Test cricket in June, a vital opportunity to adapt to Sri Lankan conditions, which are mainly spin-friendly.
The fixture also marks the start of Subhadeep Ghosh’s stint as fielding coach after the BCCI chose not to extend contracts of his predecessor T Dilip and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate. While left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan is making steady progress from a niggle at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, the squad is without premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah due to knee injury.
Bumrah’s absence has handed Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi his maiden Test call-up, while off-spin bowling all-rounder Saransh Jain is also included to counter Sri Lanka’s left-handed heavy lineup. Currently fifth in the World Test Championship table, India need a strong outing in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka to boost their chances of reaching the final.
–IANS
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