Shubman Gill returns to Ranji Trophy for Punjab against Chhattisgarh

India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill will play for Punjab in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B second-round match against Chhattisgarh at New Chandigarh on Sunday. The 19-match round also includes three televised fixtures starting at 9:30 am: Karnataka versus Saurashtra, Punjab versus Chhattisgarh and Kerala versus Odisha. Gill missed Punjab's opening fixture against Assam, where the side took three points via a first-innings lead.

Gill arrives after scoring 334 runs at an average of 167 in India's 2-1 ODI series win over the West Indies. He made an unbeaten 223 off 133 balls in the second ODI, the fastest double-century in the format, as India chased 406 with 39 balls to spare. Punjab head coach Amit Uniyal said Gill remains focused on contributing to the team's red-ball campaign and is tracking the progress of Punjab players.

Punjab will be led by former India Under-19 captain Uday Saharan, with Gill and opener Prabhsimran Singh expected to strengthen the batting. The side also fields 38-year-old fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who took seven wickets on his first-class debut for Punjab against Assam. Chhattisgarh enter the contest with three points after their opening-round draw against Saurashtra.