AHMEDABAD: India’s opening batter Shubman Gill attended the practice session on the eve of the highly anticipated World Cup clash against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Notably, Gill who arrived in Ahmedabad wearing a mask on Wednesday was without it as he arrived for the practice session.
The Indian opener was in Chennai where he was being treated, and could not take part in India’s first two matches of the tournament against Australia and Afghanistan.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that talented opener Shubman Gill will stay in Chennai and will not travel with the squad for the Men in Blue’s ODI World Cup clash against Afghanistan.
Former cricketer, Yuvraj Singh was hopeful that Gill would be fit to play the electrifying clash in a ground he is more or less destined to score runs in.
Speaking exclusively to ANI, Yuvraj, who bagged the Player of the Tournament Award in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, said, “Shubham Gill ko maine tagda kar diya hai [I have strengthened Shubham Gill]. I told him that I had played in the World Cup while battling cancer, so I got ready quickly to join the team. Hopefully, he will be ready for the India vs Pakistan game. When you have a fever and dengue it is really tough to play a cricket match and I have experienced that. So I hope that if he is fit then he will definitely play.”
In 20 ODIs this year, Gill has scored 1,230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of just above 105. He has scored five centuries and five fifties this year, with the best of 208.
In India’s previous match against Afghanistan, the Men in Blue clinched an 8-wicket win against Hashmatullah Shahidi’s Afghanistan side. Set a target of 273 after pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s heroic 4/39, India won the match after the top order consisting of skipper Rohit Sharma (131), Ishan Kishan (47) and Virat Kohli (55*) and fired Men in Blue towards a with more than 14 overs left. (ANI)