Young India opener Shubman Gill missed India’s World Cup 2023 opening match, against Australia on Sunday in Chennai.
Gill is suffering from dengue and hence missed the Australia game. In Gill’s absence, Ishan Kishan opened alongside Rohit Sharma, but Kishan was dismissed for a duck by Mitchell Starc in the first over of India’s innings.
After Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, too, bagged ducks to Josh Hazlewood. With the score reading 2/3, India were in big trouble. But Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stepped up to the occasion with their 165-run partnership to bail the side out of trouble and put them in a winning position. Kohli scored 85 and KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 97, finishing the game with a six off Pat Cummins.
India’s next match is against Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 11, in Delhi. After that, it will be time for the bumper encounter against Pakistan on Saturday, October 14, in Ahmedabad.
The Indians fans are wondering when Shubman Gill return to the side, while the management is hoping that he gets fit in time for the Pakistan game in Ahmedabad, where he has done superbly during the IPL.
ANI has reported that Shubman Gill is feeling better.
A source told ANI, “Shubman Gill is recovering and he will be traveling with the team to Delhi. We hope that he will be back on the field before the match against Pakistan, and playing against Afghanistan will depend on his next medical report.”
Will Shubman Gill play vs Pakistan?
The BCCI has confirmed that Shubman Gill will miss the Afghanistan game and will recover in Chennai. The team management is hoping that he can make his return against Pakistan.
The BCCI said “Team India batter Shubman Gill will not be travelling with the team to Delhi on 9th October 2023. The opening batter who missed the team’s first fixture in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai is set to miss the team’s next fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on the 11th of October.
He will stay back in Chennai and will be under the supervision of the medical team.”
India missing Gill is a hefty blow for the side. The right-hander has been in sublime form this year. Gill is the leading ODI run-scorer in the world in 2023 with 1230 ODI runs at an average of 72 with 5 centuries, which includes a double hundred, and 5 fifties in 20 innings. No other batsman in the world has crossed 1000 ODI runs so far this year.
