Shubman Gill loss overshadows India’s World Cup opener

India’s 2023 World Cup campaign has been dealt a blow 48 hours before their opening match, with news that opener Shubman Gill is set to miss at least Sunday’s clash with Australia in Chennai. Gill, who is the leading run-getter in ODIs this year, is down with dengue which leaves his participation for India’s initial few matches in doubt.

Gill was not at India’s two training sessions in Chennai on Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday it was confirmed that he had tested positive for dengue. Symptoms for dengue typically last between two to seven days, with recovery anywhere from a week to three weeks. The severity of Gill’s case is not known, but given how weak the human body tends to become after bouts of dengue it is unlikely that the 24-year-old will be physically fit for India’s second game against Afghanistan on October 11 in Delhi.

In Gill’s absence, India’s third opener for the World Cup, Ishan Kishan, will slot in alongside Rohit Sharma on Sunday. Over the past 12 months, when given the chance to open in ODIs, Kishan has made 420 runs from six innings which includes the fastest men’s double-century, scored in Bangladesh last December. During the tour to the West Indies in July-August, Kishan opened in all three ODIs and was Man of the Series after scores of 77, 55 and 52.

The loss of Gill, who in 2023 has amassed 1230 runs at an average of 72.35 while striking at 105.03 – and who in his last four ODIs has hit two centuries and a fifty – is a massive one because India’s preparations have been hit. Entering a World Cup without your best opener is a blow, and the team will hope that Gill recovers at the earliest.

What 11 India choose for the opener in Chennai depends on the nature of the surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Traditionally a somewhat slow and low surface, as witnessed the previous time that India and Australia played there in March, the Chidambaram Stadium has a re-laid surface. While it is not expected to be a dry strip, the prospect of spin coming into play might prompt India to shelve their pre-tournament plans and bench Shardul Thakur in favour of Ravichandran Ashwin, who was a surprise call-up to the World Cup squad recently.

Ashwin is, of course, a master of Indian conditions and given the number of left-hander in Australia’s lineup his inclusion would be an obvious one. But a three-pronged spin attack of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin would leave India with just two frontline pacers and Hardik Pandya as a third seam option. A risk, in case the Chennai surface does not turn and Australia’s big-hitters get stuck in.

India likely XI: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur/R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jaspreet Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj