Shubman Gill to feature in Punjab's next Ranji Trophy Match

India's ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill has made himself available for Punjab in their second-round Ranji Trophy 2026-27 fixture against Chhattisgarh in New Chandigarh. Uday Saharan will continue to lead the team, and Gill was added as a last-minute addition.

In advance of his trip to New Zealand for the ODI series, which runs from November 4 to November 15, it is understood that Gill is eager to get some match practice in the red-ball format. Gill's availability in that series, however, will be limited to just the first three ODIs before he hands over the captaincy to Shreyas Iyer to prepare for the two Tests that follow.

India's tour runs alongside the shadow tour, with India A playing three unofficial Tests against New Zealand A. Even though Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are in the team for all three games, Gill won't be able to play even in one of them because the third unofficial Test, along with the second and third One-Day Internationals, is from November 7-10.

For Punjab, it's likely that Gill will bat at No. 4, which could mean that Jashanpreet Sidhu takes Gill's place. The batting line-up also comprises Prabhsimran Singh, who missed last week's season opener against Assam due to his India A commitments. In Puducherry's two innings against Australia A, Prabhsimran scored 39 and 17.

Vihaan Malhotra, Emanjot Chahal, and Salil Arora all scored centuries as Punjab beat Assam in the first innings to win by three points. Umesh Yadav's return to first-class cricket after more than two years was also celebrated in this match. Having moved from Vidarbha prior to the season, Umesh picked up 5 for 70 - his 16th first-class five-for.

Punjab squad: Harnoor Pannu, Vihaan Malhotra, Shubman Gill, Uday Saharan (c), Jashanpreet Sidhu, Salil Arora (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Emanjot Chahal, Harjas Tandon, Gurnoor Brar, Gursimran Singh, Sanvir Singh, Umesh Yadav