Gill makes himself available for Punjab's next Ranji Trophy match

Shubman Gill has confirmed his availability for Punjab for their sixth-round Ranji Trophy fixture against Karnataka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru starting January 23. The squad hasn't been announced yet.

Gill's possible return to the Punjab fold gives him an opportunity to work with Wasim Jaffer, the highest run-getter in Ranji history who is now the Punjab coach. It comes at a time when his poor returns outside Asia - he averages 17.64 in 18 innings since June 2021 - have come in for sharp scrutiny, especially with India slated to tour England for five Tests in the summer.

His return will shore up a squad that will be without senior players Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh, who have both been picked in India's T20I squad for the five-match series against England starting January 22 in Kolkata.

Gill's last Ranji Trophy appearance for Punjab came in 2022, when he played against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-finals in Alur. His return coincides with the Indian team management having laid down strict protocols for national players in the wake of India's 3-1 Test series loss in Australia.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have spoken of the need for top players to make themselves available to play for their respective state teams when free of international commitments.

Gill was among those who endured a disappointing run in Australia, where he managed a highest of 31 in five innings following a return from a finger injury that kept him out of the series opener in Perth. He averaged 18.60 for the series. He was also left out of India's XI for the Boxing Day Test, with the team management slotting in KL Rahul at No. 3 after Rohit Sharma reverted to his opening position having initially started the series, in the second Test, in the middle order.

At the time, though, the team management said that Gill hadn't been dropped and was merely "unfortunate" to miss out owing to team combination, as India went in with two spin-bowling allrounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

Punjab's hopes of qualifying for the Ranji Trophy playoffs hangs by a thread; they are currently fifth in Group A with a solitary win in five games.