Gautam Gambhir set to rejoin the Indian team before the Adelaide Test

Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, will rejoin the team on Tuesday (December 3), having flown back home for personal reasons. 

Gambhir returned home after the conclusion of the Perth Test which India won by 295 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series against Australia. The match ended on its fourth day (November 25), and Gambhir headed home the next day. 

He missed India’s two-day tour game in Canberra, which was later reduced to a one-day affair due to rain, which India won by six wickets. The support staff — Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel — looked after the training sessions in Gambhir’s absence. 

Gambhir will join the squad four days prior to the second Test — a day-night fixture in Adelaide. His first task would be to decide India’s XI for the match with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill set to return after missing the Perth Test. While Gill can slot in the number three position, replacing Devdutt Padikkal, taking a call on the opening combination won’t be easy. 

In Rohit’s absence, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal forged a 201-run stand in the second innings. Dhruv Jurel is likely to make way for the skipper Rohit but where the captain bats is something everyone is looking forward to. Also, would India continue to omit both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin? Will the latter return on grounds of his excellent record (16 wickets in three Tests) at the venue? 

In his brief stint as India’s head coach thus far, Gambhir has looked keen on framing the XI based on conditions and combinations. 

The second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test starts on Friday (December 6) in Adelaide. 

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