India have received a massive blow as Shubman Gill is suffering from dengue. The 24-year-old is unlikely to play in India’s first WC match against Australia on Sunday (October 8). The right-hand batter’s absence from the first game could prove to be fatal as he has been the top run scorer for India in the ODIs in 2023.
According to Dainik Jagran reports, Gill suffered from dengue during the training session yesterday. India will have another training session today, and the 24-year-old won’t be part of it. With Gill unlikely to feature in the first WC clash against Australia, Ishan Kishan will open the innings.
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Shubman Gill: Blow to India as Gill set to miss clash against Australia, Ishan Kishan to open
With no Gill, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will likely play Kishan as opening batter. With KL Rahul set to continue to bat in the middle order, Kishan is the only option India has got as the opener. More than in the middle order, the southpaw has scored most runs in the opening role.
Kishan’s only hundred came against Bangladesh in the opening position. The wicketkeeper batter has an average of 40 plus as an opener compared to 29 batting in the middle order.
Meanwhile, doctors will assess Gill and BCCI will give updates about his recovery from dengue.
India’s Probable Playing XI vs Australia:
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur /Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj