Shubman Gill arrives at the Chennai Airport.
Credit: PTI
Shubman Gill's quick recovery from dengue has given him a great chance to make his debut in the World Cup in the upcoming match between Pakistan and India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Gill, who was admitted to a hospital in Chennai after getting diagnosed for dengue, has flown down to Ahmedabad just one day after he was released from the hospital.
Gill appeared to be having fun in video that Star Sports aired of him before he went to the nets. He was accompanied by throwdown expert Nuwan Seneviratne and Team India physio Kamlesh.
The 24-year-old practiced his batting in the nets of Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. As there was no other Indian team member available, he participated in throwdowns and faced local net bowlers. He also had a practice fielding session and took some catches.
"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. This is an important game against Pakistan. If he is fit, which I'm sure he is, then he should be in India's playing XI" former India chairman of selectors MSK Prasad, who is a Star Sports' Telugu cricket expert for this World Cup, told HT.
Speaking on why Gill did not travel to Delhi for the Afghanistan match, Prasad said Gill did not travel for India's match due to precautionary reasons.
Gill has an amazing track record at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, which is the home ground of his IPL team, Gujarat Titans, and had a great scoring run in the last edition of the IPL.
Though the Indian batter hasn’t played an ODI at the venue, he has an average of 93 and two centuries from the three Tests and a T20I that he has played there for India.
"This is the ground where he has played his franchise cricket. He understands every blade of grass about this ground. He knows how to get runs here. With the kind of record he has at this ground and the kind of record he had in the last 1 year, he should definitely play. This is not a T20 game where he needs to go slam-bang. He can take his time, get set, occupy the crease and then see how it goes. Ideally, I would want him in the XI," Prasad said.