Abhishek didn’t feature in the team’s practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Two days ahead of the Namibia clash, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed a press conference, where he shared a worrying update on dashing opener Abhishek Sharma.
The Dutchman revealed that Abhishek was still suffering from ‘illness’, while also hoping that the southpaw will recover in time for their second Group A match.
“Abhi has still got a few issues with his tummy, but we are hopeful he will be available for the game in two days time," ten Doeschate told reporters on Tuesday.
Abhishek didn’t feature in the team’s practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium soon after ten Doeschate’s presser. If the left-hander misses the game against Namibia, Sanju Samson could be the straightforward like-for-like replacement.
Samson was the first-choice opener until the last series against New Zealand, but a series of low scores saw him getting replaced by the in-form Ishan Kishan.
Meanwhile, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is also expected to return to bowling after being away from action for 10 days. He didn’t feature in the USA game due to illness.
“Bumrah has been off 10 days without bowling, but he’s feeling a lot better and moving a lot better," ten Doeschate said.
The assistant coach also confirmed that if Bumrah is declared fit and fine for the Namibia game, Mohammed Siraj would be benched.
Siraj, who was added to the Indian squad last week after Harshit Rana was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, delivered match-winning performance against the USA. The right-arm returned with the figures of 3/29 in four overs, helping the hosts restrict the opponent to 132/8 in the chase of 162.