SYDNEY, – India suffered another injury blow as batsman Shubman Gill fractured his thumb during training in Perth on Saturday as they prepare for their first test against Australia this week, according to multiple media reports.

Instead of facing a local team in a tour match, India opted to prepare for the Perth test, which starts on Friday, with team sessions behind closed doors.

According to Times of India and other media outlets citing sources, Gill injured his left thumb while fielding and this poses a big doubt for the match. The team had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters about Gill’s condition.

The news further adds to India’s problems at the top of the batting order as skipper Rohit Sharma is yet to be in Australia after staying home for the birth of his second child, who was born on Friday.

Gill has been batted at number three since the middle of last year but has opened in most of the first 30 tests and has emerged as one of the leading candidates at the top of the order alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Rohit’s absence.

KL Rahul, another aspirant, walked off the field on the first day of the intra-squad session on Friday after receiving a blow to his elbow from teammate Prasidh Krishna while fast bowling.

The 32-year-old lost his place in the team during the recent 3-0 series loss at home to New Zealand after scoring 12 from two deliveries in the first test to finish sixth.

The Test team has been working on match simulations against a side comprising India A team members and fringe players at the WACA ground in Perth.

According to Espncricinfo.com, Devdutt Padikka, who played his first test in March and was in Australia with the India A team, was asked to stay in the country.

There are fewer concerns about Virat Kohli after the batting mainstay joined the sessions despite undergoing scans for an undisclosed injury earlier in the week, Times of India reported.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.