India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is all set to play two Vijay Hazare Trophy fixtures for Punjab on January 3 and January 6. He has already confirmed his availability to the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and also expressed keenness to play the remaining rounds of the Ranji Trophy.“Shubman will be playing the two games in January – on 3rd and 6th – before joining the team for the ODI series versus New Zealand. He also wants to play the remaining rounds of Ranji Trophy for Punjab,” A PCA official told TimesofIndia.com.
Unceremoniously dropped from India’s T20I squad for the World Cup next year, Gill will be back in action for the List A games vs Sikkim on January 3 and Goa on January 6. Both games will be played in Jaipur and the 27-year-old opener will then join the ODI team in Vadodara for the series against New Zealand.The three match ODI series ends on January 18 in Indore and Gill is then expected to get some red-ball game time in the remaining two rounds of the Ranji Trophy.Punjab are scheduled to play Saurashtra from January 22 in Rajkot and then Karnataka in Mullanpur from January 29. If all stays on track, PCA is optimistic of having the services of the India Test captain in the last two group games. Punjab are currently sixth in Group B standings with just one win in five fixtures.When the Indian T20I team will be playing the World Cup at home in February-March, Gill will undergo the domestic grind before focus shifts to the IPL in the last week of March.