Shubman Gill Health Update: Will Team India opener play against Pakistan? ICC World Cup 2023, Squad News

Shubman Gill Health Update: It was unfortunate for the Indian side when in-form opener Shubman Gill tested positive for dengue just before India's opening clash against Australia in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 here in India.

It was a panic situation, not just for the selectors, but also for all the 140 crore Indians who have waited patiently for 12 years for India to lift the World Cup trophy.

The 22-year-old has been in impressive form, providing solid starts to the Indian batting and scoring consistently. He is the highest run-scorer for India in this calendar year in One Day Internationals (ODIs), accumulating 1230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03.

Gill has already missed two games in this World Cup campaign because of his recovery from the illness and was also hospitalised on Sunday, October 8, due to a low platelet count that had dropped to 70000.

Gill also did not travel with the squad to Delhi for the match against Afghanistan but went straight to Ahmedabad on the doctor's advice against taking frequent flights as he was recovering. 

However, on Thursday, October 12, Gill was seen practising in the nets ahead of the high-intensity match against Pakistan on Saturday, October 14 in Ahmedabad.

Under the doctor's observation, Gill made some strides and sprinted at the Narendra Modi Stadium before padding up to face left-arm throwdown specialist, Nuwan Seneviratne, keeping Pakistan's left-arm pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi, in mind. He also faced the net bowlers for an extended session.

Gill looked quite comfortable while facing Seneviratne and the net bowlers, and it is beyond belief that he was in a hospital bed a few days ago. It is understood, nevertheless, that head coach Rahul Dravid and the medical staff would examine Gill in Friday's training session before making a decision.

The purpose of his training under the intense heat was to see how his body responds and whether he would be able to tolerate the heat and humidity right after his dengue episode.

(With inputs from agencies)

Catch the latest stock market updates here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech, sports, and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.