India captain left the nets in pain on Friday after a rearing delivery struck him on the right elbow, two days before the first ODI against West Indies at Greenfield International Stadium. The visitors, who landed in Thiruvananthapuram on September 23, have still not trained.
Shubman Gill was among the first batters out at the Sports Hub, working with , and Ruturaj Gaikwad. He looked settled against Gurnoor Brar after a cautious start, even if Nitish Kumar Reddy beat him outside off a couple of times. The scare came when he faced Siraj. A length ball climbed and struck the right elbow. Gill walked off writhing. The physio went with him. Siraj checked on his captain. Kohli, batting in the next net, followed.
Support staff strapped the arm. Gill sat clutching the elbow and spent the rest of the session in recovery. He did not return to face live bowling. He later joked with Brar and looked more comfortable when the group left the field. India have a little more than a day before Sunday’s 2 PM IST start. Gill’s last series also began with a ring-finger scare: a blow in Sri Lanka last month that he played through in the Tests.
There is no official reason yet for the delayed first session. The Caribbean side is expected to train on Saturday, the eve of the match. Shai Hope captains a squad built around pace and a mix of young keepers. The three ODIs run Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati (September 30) and New Chandigarh (October 3), before five T20Is.
’s elbow will be the first concern on Saturday’s fitness list. If he is cleared, India will start their home white-ball season with Rohit and Kohli back in the same middle order and a new-look attack around Siraj and Prasidh.
The tour arrives as Cricket West Indies announced a financial reset. International players keep 12-month contracts but take a 25 percent cut in retainer fees. Domestic retainers drop to seven months.
India: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul (vc, wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi.
West Indies: Shai Hope (c, wk), Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales.
