Shubman Gill is unlikely to take the field for India in their World Cup opening match against Australia on Sunday. The opening batter reportedly tested positive for dengue and is getting medical assistance as a result. It was also the reason he missed the team’s training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday.
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“Shubhman has had high fever since landing in Chennai. His tests are being done. He will have tests on Friday and a call will be taken on his participation in opening game,” a BCCI source told news agency PTI on the condition of anonymity.
If Gill does not recover in time for the clash, Ishan Kishan could come into the batting lineup. The question for the Indian team management will then be whether to open the batting with KL Rahul or Kishan alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. Either way, the absence of India’s in-form batter from the playing XI would be a massive setback for the team.
Gill has scored 1764 runs this year from 36 matches across formats at an average of 51.88. It includes seven centuries and six half centuries with highest of 208 runs against New Zealand in January. He was the leading run-scorer in the Indian Premier League (890 runs) and topped the scoring charts at the Asia Cup (302 runs). His last few innings have produced scores of 104, 74, 27*, 19, 58 and 67*.
There is no clarity on how long Gill will be out if he does test positive on Friday as well. “Let’s not jump the gun. If it’s normal viral fever, he could play on antibiotics but it’s completely the medical team’s call,” the source added.
After facing Australia on Sunday, India’s next two matches are against Afghanistan (11 October) and Pakistan (14 October).
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