Young India opener Shubman Gill is set to miss at least the first match of India’s World Cup 2023 campaign – against Australia on October 8 – after he had gone down with fever due to dengue.
ESPNcricinfo has reported that Shubman Gill is confirmed to miss the Australia match in Chennai. He had tested positive for dengue after he’d landed in Chennai. He missed the training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday.
“He is under the weather,” the BCCI said. “The medical team is closely monitoring him. We are hoping he gets better soon.”
Shubman Gill’s absence from the Australia game – and potentially from the next two games against Afghanistan and Pakistan – due to dengue is a big dent to Team India because he’s been in sensational form this year.
The 24-year-old is the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year with 1230 runs at an average of 72 and a strike rate of 105. In his last 4 ODIs, he cracked two hundreds and a half-century, two of those coming against Australia.
Who will open for India against Australia in the absence of Shubman Gill?
India have a few options in their squad. Ishan Kishan seems to be the most likely choice to replace Gill in the side. The other options include Suryakumar Yadav, who could be given a license to go out and attack in the powerplay, and another option is KL Rahul.
It seems that Ishan Kishan will get the nod as he’s been a regular opener for Mumbai Indians and has played most of his knocks for India in international cricket as an opener. It would be a big change in the order if India pushes KL Rahul to open just after he’s been doing superbly at number 5. A left-field choice of Suryakumar Yadav could be tempting, too. However, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are unlikely to make such a bold call at the start of the tournament.
Some fans on social media also wondered if India should recall Shikhar Dhawan, but Dhawan has not played ODIs since December 2022.
Here are some fans asking for a recall of Shikhar Dhawan:
