Shubman Gill relieves Gautam Gambhir [Source: AFP]Shubman Gill provided a sigh of relief to Gautam Gambhir after Sai Sudharsan's injury derailed India's campaign on their current Test tour of Sri Lanka. The Indian team has been hit by a number of injury setbacks in recent times. While Jasprit Bumrah's knee injury ruled him out of the India tour of Sri Lanka 2026, Washington Sundar won't feature in the crucial two-match series due to a hamstring injury. Sai Sudharsan's toe injury only added to India's woes before captain Shubman Gill lifted his team's morale by resuming batting in the nets amid his tryst with a finger injury. Shubman Gill bats for 1st time since finger injuryOn Sunday, August 9, Shubman Gill came out to bat for the first time since sustaining a finger injury right before the warm-up match between India and Sri Lanka-XI. India were slated to begin their tour of Sri Lanka with a three-day warm-up match at the NCC ground in Colombo. Given that Shubman Gill had not played a single Test in Sri Lanka, the warm-up match was crucial for him to get valuable game time ahead of the first Test in Galle. However, Gill unfortunately missed out on selection for the warm-up match after receiving a nasty blow to the ring finger of his right hand during one of India's practice sessions. Ankan Kar @AnkanKar Shubman Gill going into the Nets! Taping seen on Right Hand! #SLCXIvsIND #TeamIndia #ShubmanGill Aug 9, 2026, 10:08 AM The Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management didn't take a chance with Gill for the practice game, making him warm the bench during India's batting. In the absence of Gill, India's vice-captain KL Rahul went out for the toss. Also Read: Shubman Gill's Availability For India vs Sri Lanka Tests Decided By BCCI! Out Of Practice MatchHowever, after resting and focusing on his recovery for two days, Gill finally padded up and walked out to bat in the nets. The Indian captain was spotted leaving and timing the cricket ball to perfection in the nets during day 3 of his side's warm-up fixture against the Lankans. Shubman Gill's first outing in the nets detailedAccording to Sahil Malhotra from TOI, Shubman Gill batted for more than an hour in his first net session since the finger injury. The Indian captain primarily focused on tackling spin bowling under the supervision of head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel. Why is Shubman Gill's batting resumption a relieving sign for Gautam Gambhir?Shubman Gill has fit himself at the decorated number four slot perfectly, amassing 1076 runs at an average of 82.76 after replacing Rohit Sharma as India's full-time Test captain. Given that Gill has been the most prolific batter for the team since taking up the Test captaincy, his finger injury emerged as a massive concern for head coach Gautam Gambhir. The problem aggravated further when Sai Sudharsan was ruled out of the series after failing to recover from a toe injury, which he sustained during the India-A vs Sri Lanka-A series. With their number three being sidelined from the entire tour and the number four batter nursing an injury, head coach Gautam Gambhir was jolted by a severe headache regarding India's best possible combination for the first Test of the Sri Lanka tour. In such a scenario, Gill resuming batting is a huge boost for the India as they gear up for the opening Test. Also Read: ECB Confirms Big India Move With England: Tri-Series Return And Five-Test Series Revealed
