The Indian cricket team has been dealt with a major blow ahead of their World Cup match against Australia in Chennai. As per the recent report, Shubhman Gill, the promising young batsman, has been diagnosed with dengue fever. This news comes as a setback to the Indian team because the form Gill was having prior to the World Cup was outstanding and India will definitely miss him. In 20 ODIs, Gill has scored more than 1200 runs, the leading run-getter in 2023, at an impressive average of 72, with five centuries. India has the bench strength to cover for Gill’s absence, but not having their in-form opener for Sunday’s match may shake up their confidence.

According to sources, Gill was having symptoms of Dengue when he was in Guwahati for the warm-up game against the Netherlands, which was later washed out due to rain. On Thursday, Gill was taken for further tests and it was confirmed that he had dengue, but the intensity of the fever is low and he is expected to recover soon. But the team management doesn’t want to hurry things up because of the long tournament ahead. Due to the fact that dengue fever typically requires a seven-day period, and possibly longer if the illness is severe, Gill may not be able to play the first two matches. And he might see him play the third match which is against the arch rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad.

Who can be Rohit’s opening partner?

Most likely, Ishan Kishan may open with Rohit Sharma in the absence of Gill. Ishan will love this opportunity and will also be able to return to the position from which he scored his fastest ODI double-century against Bangladesh last year. Former Indian coach, Ravi Shastri, advocated for Ishan Kishan to open with Rohit Sharma because of the left-right combination at the top order. This year, Ishan has scored 409 runs with four fifties in 13 innings and has been in remarkable form.

I don’t think India needs to press the panic button because they have pretty good bench strength and like to like replacements if needed. Let’s hope that Gill recovery in time and we can witness his batting in the upcoming matches.