Shubman Gill down with dengue ahead India’s World Cup opener against Australia

Team India has faced a major setback ahead of their opening match against Australia in the 2023 ICC World Cup, with star opener Shubman Gill getting diagnosed with Dengue fever. The India Vs. Australia match is scheduled for Sunday, October 8.

Shubman Gill has had an outstanding year in the ODI (One Day International) cricket in 2023. He showed an impressive performance by scoring 1230 runs in just 20 ODIs. This makes him the highest run-scorer in the ODI format for the year 2023. Gill currently boasts an impressive average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03.

His remarkable performance includes five centuries and five half-centuries. This puts him in the category of Indian batsmen who have achieved five or more hundreds in a single year, alongside Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.

Shubman Gill also emerged as the top run-scorer in the Asia Cup 2023, with 302 runs on his name. Furthermore, he is on the verge of claiming the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. It is noteworthy that Gill is only 665 runs away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s World record of 1,894 runs in a calendar year.

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However, Shubman Gill’s current situation with Dengue has raised concerns. The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring his condition and running additional tests. A final decision regarding Gill’s availability for the opening match against Australia will be made after these tests.

In Shubman Gill’s absence, India may turn to Ishan Kishan as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner. Currently, Kishan has been excelling in the middle-order for India, with his crucial 82 runs of 81 balls against Pakistan during the Asia Cup.