The senior national selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will meet the Indian team management on the sidelines of the India versus Afghanistan match on Wednesday in Delhi and is set to take a call on Shubman Gill’s participation in the remainder of ODI World Cup 2023 matches.
The 24-year-old Gill has been battling with dengue and was sidelined from India’s opening game of the tournament against Australia in Chennai on Sunday.
While the Indian team landed in Delhi on Monday to face Afghanistan, Gill stayed back and continued to recover in the city. He is set to miss the match against Pakistan on October 14 as well.
According to an Indian Express report, Gill will take more than a week to recover and the selection committee is set to discuss with the team management if a replacement has to be kept ready. If management asks the selection committee for a replacement, Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad could end up joining the team as a cover.
The report further mentioned that Gill was taken to a private hospital in Chennai after he complained of severe fatigue. He stayed overnight at the hospital and after undergoing further tests in the morning, the young cricketer left for the hotel.
It has been learnt that the doctors have advised him 48 hours of rest and his condition would be assessed again on Thursday.
Earlier, the BCCI in its media release had informed that Gill will not be travelling with the team to Delhi on 9th.
“The opening batter who missed the team’s first fixture in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai is set to miss the team’s next fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on the 11th of October. He will stay back in Chennai and will be under the supervision of the medical team,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in its statement.
Notably, Gill has been one of India’s best performing ODI players in recent times and has risen the ODI Batter Rankings and is now in second place only behind Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. Gill, who is the leading run-getter in 50-over format this year with 1230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03, has hit two centuries and a half-century in his last four ODIs.
In Gill’s absence, Ishan Kishan opened the batting for India against Australia but he couldn’t do much and was dismissed for a duck. However, the left-handed wicket-keeper batter is likely to receive another chance to open the innings with captain Rohit Sharma in the national capital.
