India’s head coach Rahul Dravid has provided a crucial update on the health of star opener Shubman Gill as India prepares to face Australia in their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup opener in Chennai on Sunday. Gill has been battling an illness, rumored to be dengue fever, raising concerns about his availability for the high-stakes clash.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Gill’s fitness, Dravid remained optimistic about his recovery. “He’s certainly feeling better today,” Dravid announced during the pre-match press conference on Friday. “The medical team is monitoring on a daily basis. We have 36 hours; we’ll see what decision they take. He’s certainly feeling better today.”
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Gill, who had showcased remarkable form during the Asia Cup and established himself as India’s premier opening batsman, was reported to be suffering from dengue fever earlier in the week. However, Dravid’s latest update suggests that his condition may be improving, offering a glimmer of hope for the Indian team.
“The medical team hasn’t ruled him out as yet,” Dravid emphasized. “We’ll keep monitoring him on a day-to-day basis. We’ll see how he feels the day after tomorrow.”
If Shubman Gill is ultimately ruled out of the match against Australia, India has viable replacement options in the form of Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul. Kishan, initially a middle-order batsman, could step up to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, while the in-form Suryakumar Yadav might be considered for a place in the playing XI.
Dravid also praised Suryakumar Yadav’s recent performances, stating, “He’s always been a good player. It is the nature of our country, right? Two good knocks and certainly he has cracked it. It’s a question of confidence that those two knocks would have given him, setting him up beautifully on the back end. He is working on certain things, he’s learning a few things. We have told him about finding other ways of scoring than his general route in T20s. He’s in a really good space in terms of his skills.”
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
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