Shubman Gill hurts his index finger; not to take field on Day 4

Visakhapatnam: Shubman Gill, who scored a patient century in the second innings of the Vizag Test to give a new lease of life to his Test career, hurt his index finger while fielding on Day 2 and, as a precautionary measure, will not take the field on the fourth day of the Test.

More details on whether Gill has been sent for scans are awaited, but with a big 10-day gap between the second and third Tests, it is increasingly clear that India will have their No.3 batter back in the ranks in Rajkot.

The 24-year-old hurt his finger while taking a catch in the first innings, where he took a total of four catches. He batted with an injury in the second innings and scored 104 runs. 

In fact, Gill has taken 10 catches in Test cricket since 2023, the most by a non-wicketkeeper for India.

Many questions were raised about Gill’s place in the Test side after a long barren run, but his century on Sunday has provided him some respite. It was Gill’s third century in the red-ball format and first 50-plus scores since the 128-run knock against Australia in Ahmedabad last year