Even before India could begin their World Cup 2023 campaign, they have been given an early fitness and availability concern as Shubman Gill is under fitness cloud and is down with a fever.
India will take on Australia for their first match this Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. However, they are most likely to be without their star young opener Shubman Gill.
Gill had reportedly tested positive for dengue as soon as India landed in Chennai. He was also the only member of the squad seen wearing a mask.
On Friday morning, it was reported that Gill had been ruled out not just from the first match, but could miss two matches as well. However, India head coach Rahul Dravid had calmed the fans with this optimistic news.
Shubman Gill is certainly feeling better today: Dravid
Dravid said that Gill hasn’t yet been ruled out from the Australia game by the BCCI medical team, and that the 24-year-old is already feeling better from before.
“He’s certainly feeling better today,” Dravid said on Friday. “The medical team is monitoring on daily basis. We have 36 hours, we’ll see what decision they take. He’s certainly feeling better today.”
“Medical team hasn’t ruled him out as yet. We’ll keep monitoring him on a day to day basis. We’ll see how he feels day after tomorrow.”
If Gill is indeed not fit to play on Sunday, then India have two-three options in their squad to slot as opener. The most likely option at the moment seems Ishan Kishan. Kishan batted for a considerable amount of time in the nets on Friday evening with Dravid closely observing him. Kishan had been prepared as the back-up opener and keeper. He has shown his versatility to play in the middle order as well.
A left-field choice of Suryakumar Yadav could be tempting, too. However, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are unlikely to go down that road at the start of the tournament.
