Blow for India as Shubman Gill fractures left thumb, all but out of Perth Test
New Delhi/Perth, Nov 16: India were dealt a telling blow on Saturday after star top-order batter Shubman Gill sustained a left thumb fracture which is likely to rule him out of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium in Perth, starting November 22.
Gill, one of the young heroes of India's last Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph, is a batting mainstay and in case skipper Rohit Sharma opts out of the first Test, India's top-order could look very thin.
Gill got hurt while fielding on the second day of the intra-squad match simulation. He was seen in considerable pain and immediately left the field for further scans.
According to a BCCI source privy to the development, Gill has indeed fractured his left thumb and with less than a week left for the Test to start, it will be near impossible for the stylish right-hander to get fit in time for the opening match.
A thumb fracture generally takes around 14 days to heal after which one is expected to start his regular net sessions. Since the second Test in Adelaide starts from December 6, there remains a possibility that he will get fit in time for that match.
Gill's absence could be massive for the national team as he is not only a stable number three batter but in case of Rohit's absence, he could be considered for opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The other man in contention, Lokesh Rahul, has a bruised elbow after getting hit by a Prasidh Krishna short ball on the opening day of the intra-squad match and was forced to leave the field.
Rahul's bruised area needed icing and he didn't take the field on the second day of the match simulation on Saturday although it is being seen more as a precautionary measure.
In case Gill is absent, Abhimanyu Easwaran could be in line for his Test debut as India do not have too many options left.
However, if skipper Rohit, who was blessed with a baby boy, decides to join forces with three days of training, then it would be a different story.
Mohammed Shami, who has bowled more than 43.2 overs, took seven wickets and scored 37 runs in Ranji Trophy, is certainly going to join the team before the second Test.
The last day of the match simulation will happen at the WACA on Sunday after which India A squad, barring reserve players, will be back to India and join their respective state teams for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The main squad will then move to Optus Stadium in Perth where they will have three net sessions from Tuesday to Thursday before going into the Test starting Friday.
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Guarantees: Siddaramaiah accuses Maharashtra BJP of 'spreading lies,' warns of legal action
Mumbai/Bengaluru, Nov 16: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he was considering taking legal action against the BJP’s Maharashtra unit alleging it 'spread lies' about the five guarantees implemented by his government.
Addressing a press conference in Mangalwedha in Maharashtra, Siddaramaiah said: “They (BJP) have given a false advertisement in order to mislead the people of Maharashtra." Furthermore, he said he was considering filing a suit against the Maharashtra BJP for spreading lies about the guarantee schemes and its implementation. The Chief Minister said all the five guarantees have been effectively implemented in Karnataka benefiting crores of people.
The CM, his deputy D K Shivakumar and a host of Karnataka ministers, who are campaigning in Maharashtra for elections are reaching out to the people on the five guarantees being implemented in their state.
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These five guarantees are 'Gruha Jyoti' offering up 200 units of free electricity for household connection, 'Gruha Lakshmi' providing Rs 2,000 to the women heads of BPL families, 'Shakti' fare-free bus travel scheme for women, 'Yuva Nidhi' offering Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,500 to unemployed graduates and diploma holders respectively and 'Anna Bhagya' food security scheme for BPL families.
Siddaramaiah asked the Maharashtra leaders to visit Karnataka and see for themselves if the guarantees have been implemented or not.
Attacking the BJP-led Centre for ‘injustice’ to states in the devolution of taxes, the Chief Minister said Karnataka every year pays more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore as central tax and in return gets only Rs 60,000 crore.
"According to my information, Maharashtra is paying Rs 8.78 lakh crore, whereas the Maharashtra government is getting Rs 1.30 lakh crore. That means the Government of India is causing injustice to Karnataka and Maharashtra though Maharashtra is number one and Karnataka is number two in the country in tax collection," the Chief Minister said.
According to him, Maharashtra government was getting 15 paise for each rupee it pays, while Karnataka gets about 13 to 14 paise out of every rupee. Also, the CM said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that the five guarantee schemes could not be implemented and if at all implemented, the state governments doing so will go bankrupt. While this was the case, the BJP has ironically come up with guarantees in Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
