India captain Rohit Sharma addressed the media ahead of Saturday's big World Cup clash against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
As expected he was asked about the health of opener Shubman Gill, who had contracted dengue during the warm-up matches and as a result missed India's opening matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia and Afghanistan.
The good news is that Gill seems set to make his World Cup debut, as Rohit stated that he is ‘99 per cent available’ for the clash against Pakistan. “99 percent he (Gill) is available. We'll see tomorrow (Saturday) about that.” Rohit said.
Gill has traveled with the Indian team to practice at the venue under floodlights this evening where his recovery will be further assessed. He had flown to Ahmedabad from Chennai where he was treated for dengue and hospitalised as a precautionary move to watch his platelet counts which had dropped as is usually the case in dengue.
The batter spent one hour at the nets on Thursday, where he underwent a full fledged batting session with the help of throwdown specialists of the Indian team. The 24-year-old from Punjab plays for Gujarat Titans, and has played fantastically well at the 'world's largest cricket stadium' both in IPL and for India.
His return will boost India's chances of keeping their unbeaten Cricket World Cup record against Pakistan intact. Ishan Kishan is likely to make way for Gill, despite playing a decent knock of 47 against Afghanistan.