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Shubman Gill’s Adelaide stroll interrupted by Pakistani fan's shocking handshake; captain's silence says enough
Shubman Gill skipped the optional training session at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday
For the second time in the ongoing tour of Australia, newly-announced India ODI captain Shubman Gill skipped a training session, albeit it was optional. After missing the nets session upon arrival in Perth last week, Gill was not part of the few group of players that met at the Adelaide Oval on on Wednesday for their final training before the second game in the three-match contest.
Gill instead took a walk through Adelaide city with other players, including fast bowler Harshit Rana. During his stroll, he had an unexpected encounter with a Pakistani fan. Gill obliged with a handshake after the fan extended his hand, but the latter then yelled “Pakistan zindabad” in his face. The moment was caught on camera and quickly went viral on social media. Gill, however, showed no reaction — his silence spoke volumes.
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Gill will be in focus on Thursday when India face Australia in the second game in Adelaide. The 25-year-old failed to get off to a good start in his maiden outing as an ODI captain, as he was dismissed for just 10 runs. In fact, the entire top order had failed as the grand return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma fell flat in India's seven-wicket loss in the rain-interrupted series opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth last week. Kohli suffered his first dismissal for a duck on Australian soil, while Rohit was dismissed for eight runs.
Among the aforementioned three, only Rohit turned up at the optional training, where he worked on his batting for at least 45 minutes, under the watchful eyes of head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was the only person from the coaching staff to be present. The 38-year-old faced two throw-down specialists -- Dayanand Garani and Raghavendra.
Kohli, on the other hand, took an off after an extended net session on Tuesday.
