Former Indian chief selector MSK Prasad believes that young Indian opener Shubman Gill will definitely play the game against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday after fully recovering from dengue fever. The 24-year-old missed out on India’s first two encounters in the World Cup due to illness and would be in contention to play the game in Ahmedabad.
The 24-year-old has been one of India’s best batsmen in recent months and has dominated in all three formats of the game. With 1230 runs at an average of 72.35 this year, he is not only India’s top batter, but he also loves to bat in Ahmedabad as his record speaks for himself in the ground, where he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
Speaking to Hindustantimes.com, MSK Prasad sounded confident of Shubman Gill playing the game against Pakistan and feels that it is unfair to look for his replacements in the squad, with him recovering from the dengue fever.
“I think we can put an end to all kinds of speculations. Shubman Gill will definitely play this game (vs Pakistan). He’s too good a player to miss out. He had just a fever. He has recovered. It was not threatening at all that we would even think about replacements. It’s all rumours that are coming out (about the seriousness of the illness) in whatever form that you are hearing,” MSK Prasad said.
Shubman Gill’s quick recovery has given him a great chance for him to make it into the Playing 11 for the game against Pakistan. There was a very slim likelihood that Gill would be available for the Pakistan match but things started to go well by Wednesday night when Gill flew directly from Chennai to Ahmedabad and started practice for the game on Thursday.
Shubman Gill Stayed Back For One More Day In Chennai As A Precaution – MSK Prasad
MSK Prasad feels that Shubman Gill did not travel to Delhi for the Afghanistan match as a precautionary measure ahead of Pakistan’s game in Ahmedabad and also thinks that the right-opener is ready for the match because he has been preparing for it.
“What we heard was that as a matter of precaution, he couldn’t play the second game otherwise he was fine. He stayed back for one more day in Chennai as a precaution. He recovered well and was discharged. See if someone is playing for 1 hour that means he has recovered. This is an all-important game against Pakistan. If he is fit, which I’m sure he is, then he should be in India’s playing XI,” MSK Prasad added.
Gill appeared to be having fun in the video that Star Sports aired of him before he went to the nets in Ahmedabad. He was accompanied by throwdown expert Nuwan Seneviratne and Team India physio Kamlesh Jain. The Right-handed opener batted in the Motera nets for about an hour and also participated in a few catches toward the conclusion of the workout to improve his fielding abilities.