Sports Desk: Former Chief selector MSK Prasad feels that Shubman Gill definitely play in the India vs Pakistan clash in the World Cup on October 14.
Gill’s performance in 2023 has been exceptional. He has played some remarkable innings in ODI cricket, scoring a total of 1,230 runs in just 20 ODIs, making him the leading run-scorer in this format this year. His average is 72.35, with a strike rate of 105.03. He has scored as many as six centuries in the year 2023. With his sixth century of the year, Gill joined Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and other Indian legends in the elite list of batsmen with five or more hundreds in a year.
Gill has been battling health issues that have cast doubt on his participation in the World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan. He was diagnosed with dengue and had to be admitted to Chennai’s Kaveri hospital due to a drop in his platelet count. Despite being discharged from the hospital, his recovery is still ongoing, and it remains uncertain whether he will be fit to play in the crucial match. However, his speedy recovery has put him right in contention for a return to India’s playing XI.
Gill had traveled to Ahmedabad to link up with the team after the Afghanistan game and had practised in the nets for an hour on Thursday.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Prasad said that Gill would definitely play the match against Pakistan, pointing out that practising in the nets has shown that the 24-year-old has recovered well ahead of schedule.
“I think we can put an end to all kinds of speculations. Shubman Gill will definitely play this game (vs Pakistan). He’s too good a player to miss out. He had just a fever. He has recovered. It was not threatening at all that we would even think about replacements. It’s all rumours that are coming out (about the seriousness of the illness) in whatever form that you are hearing.”
“What we heard was that as a matter of precaution, he couldn’t play the second game otherwise he was fine. He stayed back for one more day in Chennai as a precaution. He recovered well, and was discharged. See if someone is playing for 1 hour, that means he has recovered. This is an all-important game against Pakistan. If he is fit, which I’m sure he is, then he should be in India’s playing XI,”
Prasad also pointed out Gill’s stats in Ahmedabad, which is his home ground in the IPL. The former selector said that the 24-year-old knows the ground well and should be a sure-shot starter for the match against Pakistan.