India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is set to return to domestic cricket, representing Punjab in their upcoming Ranji Trophy fixture against Chhattisgarh before joining the Indian team for the New Zealand tour. According to a report by news agency PTI, the 27-year-old batter will feature in Punjab’s second Elite Group A match at the PCA International Cricket Stadium, Ground A, in New Chandigarh.
Gill is expected to travel to New Zealand with the Indian squad on October 23 or 24 for the upcoming ODI and Test series. His appearance in the Ranji Trophy will provide him with valuable match practice ahead of the international assignments.
Punjab will take on Chhattisgarh from Sunday, October 18, after beginning their Ranji Trophy campaign with a draw against Assam in Mullanpur. Although the match ended without a result, Punjab collected three points by securing a first-innings lead. They will now aim to register their first outright victory of the season against Chhattisgarh.
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Shubman Gill usually bats at No. 4 in India’s Test team and is expected to occupy the same position for Punjab. He could replace Jashanpreet Singh in the playing XI after the latter scored 22 runs off 59 deliveries while batting at No. 4 in the first innings against Assam.
Some #IndiaCricketNews
✨️ Shubman Gill to carry 4-5 personal net bowlers to New Zealand for red ball practice
✨️ Gill will be paying the cost of their travel and stay from his own pocket. A first by any Indian skipper.
✨️ Gill is going to New Zealand tentatively on October 23 or 24th.
✨️He will play 2nd Ranji Trophy game against Chattisgarh at Mullanpur from Oct 18. @BCCI— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) October 16, 2026
Another point of interest will be Punjab’s captaincy. Uday Saharan, the former India Under-19 captain, is leading the side in the current Ranji Trophy season. It remains to be seen whether Gill will take charge against Chhattisgarh or play under Saharan’s leadership.
Shubman Gill’s last Ranji Trophy appearance for Punjab came against Saurashtra in Rajkot on January 22 and 23, 2026. It was a disappointing outing, as he managed only 14 runs across two innings. Parth Bhut dismissed him for a two-ball duck in the first innings and removed him again in the second, when Gill scored 14 off 32 deliveries. Punjab eventually suffered a heavy 194-run defeat.
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Punjab squad: Vihaan Malhotra, Harnoor Singh, Uday Saharan (captain), Jashanpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Salil Arora (wicketkeeper), Emanjot Singh Chahal, Harjas Singh Tandon, Harpreet Brar, Umesh Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Gursimran Singh, Anshul Chaudhary, Sanvir Singh, Anmol Malhotra and Shubman Gill.
Chhattisgarh squad: Aayush Pandey, Sanidhya Hurkat, Anuj Tiwary (captain), Amandeep Khare, Mayank Verma (wicketkeeper), Vikalp Tiwari, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Rahul Pradhan, Dev Aditya Singh, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Sandeep Warrier, Rudra Pratap Dehari, Mohammad Sohail, Vashudev Bareth, Prateek Yadav, Sourabh Majumdar, Sanjeet Desai, Ashutosh Singh and Jayant Yadav.
