Shubman Gill will miss India’s second Cricket World Cup game on Wednesday after falling to recover from a case of dengue which also kept him out of his country’s tournament opener against Australia.
India take on Afghanistan today hoping to make it two wins from two games but Gill has not made the journey to Delhi with the rest of the playing squad.
The BCCI confirmed that Gill would “stay back in Chennai and be under the supervision of the medical team.”
There was hope and optimism from India head coach Rahul Dravid that the 24-year-old would be fit to feature against the Australians but he could not recover in time and now misses out on a second World Cup match.
Dengue, also known as break-bone fever, is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people and is more common in tropical and subtropical climates.
The most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and a rash and it usually takes 1–2 weeks for a full recovery.
The BCCI released this statement saying: “Team India batter Shubman Gill will not be travelling with the team to Delhi on 9th October 2023.
“The opening batter who missed the team’s first fixture in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai is set to miss the team’s next fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on the 11th of October.
“He will stay back in Chennai and will be under the supervision of the medical team.”
Gill is the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year with 1230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03. In his last four ODI innings he has scored two centuries and a half-century and his loss is a big one for an Indian side looking to win the trophy on home soil.
During the match against Australia Ishan Kishan opened the innings with captain Rohit Sharma. Both openers were dismissed for ducks but a recovery partnership from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul led the hosts to victory with six wickets in hand and 52 balls to spare.
“Gill is not 100 percent, but he’s sick so, there’s no injury concern,” said Rohit ahead of the game against Australia last Sunday.
“Gill is not feeling well. We are monitoring him on a daily basis. We’re going to give him every chance to recover and see how he feels.”
