Young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to join the Indian squad as back-up for Shubman Gill, who has been down with dengue since arriving in Chennai for the opening encounter against Australia. The Right-handed opener has missed out on the clash against the five-time time and would reportedly require a week’s time to recover from the illness.
BCCI has already revealed that Shubman Gill won’t be travelling for the game against Afghanistan on Wednesdays, with his remaining observation of the BCCI medical team. He was reportedly sent to a hospital in Chennai after complaining of being exhausted, and the staff has advised him to rest for the next 48 hours before a reassessment on Thursday.
Shubman Gill has had a high fever and has been suffering from dengue since the Indian cricket team arrived in Chennai. In the match against Australia, Ishan Kishan replaced the opening batter by teaming up with the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday.
India will play their arch-rivals on Saturday (October 14) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad following the encounter against Afghanistan on Wednesday. It is unlikely that the opener would be able to play for the team in the marquee clash if he recovers from the illness, as it would be extremely difficult on his body to long hours after recovering from dengue.
According to the reports in Indian Express, The Ajit Agarkar-led panel is expected to meet in Delhi before the India-Afghanistan game and make a decision over the opener’s World Cup availability for the rest of the game in the World Cup and it is said that Ruturaj Gaikwad or Yashasvi Jaiswal could be called as a cover to travel with the team.
Rohit Sharma-led side will suffer a huge blow in Shuman Gill’s absence because of the kind of form he has been in 2023. 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 game.
The hosts nearly paid a steep price for Gill’s absence when his replacement Ishan Kishan, was dismissed for a golden duck against Australia in the first game and the Men in Blue would be hopeful of the left-handed opener come good in the game against Afghanistan.