Team India captain Rohit Sharma provided a major update on stylish opening batter Shubman Gill's availability for the country's opening ODI World Cup match against Australia. Gill, who is suffering from dengue, hasn't been completely ruled out from participating in the box office contest, scheduled to take place on October 8 (Sunday) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Skipper Rohit once again reiterated that Gill is 'sick' but didn't rule him out of the crunch upcoming fixture.
"The mood is good as it is going to be at the start of every big tournament. We are confident. Everyone is fit. Gill is sick but we haven’t ruled him out," said Rohit in the press conference.
"Me being a human being first, I want him to get well first. He will recover quickly," the Indian captain added.
On October 6 (Friday), coach Rahul Dravid also affirmed that Gill is being monitored by the medical team and that the 24-year-old hasn't been ruled out of the game by the medical staff.
"Shubman is certainly feeling better. Feeling better today, the medical team is monitoring him. The medical team has not ruled him out. We will see how he feels the day after tomorrow,” Dravid said in the presser.
In case Gill fails to recover in time, Ishan Kishan remains the front-runner to open the innings with captain Rohit. As an opener, Kishan's record in ODIs is impeccable. In seven innings while opening the batting for the Men in Blue in 50-over international cricket, the southpaw has scored 448 runs at a stupendous average of 74.66 and a spectacular strike rate of 125.13. Kishan has three half-centuries and one double-hundred as an opener in ODIs.
The left-handed Kishan batted for close to 40 minutes in the nets and was spotted working on his craft on Friday.
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