ODI World Cup 2023: Unwell Shubman Gill to miss clash against Afghanistan, confirms BCCI

Shubman Gill, a prominent Indian cricket batter, is set to sit out the team's second match in the 2023 Cricket World Cup against Afghanistan due to his battle reportedly with dengue fever. This decision has been confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Gill was previously ruled out of India's opening World Cup match against Australia at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium due to his ongoing fever. In that match, Ishan Kishan took his place as the opening batter, partnering with India's captain, Rohit Sharma.

In a release, the BCCI said: "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."

In a pre-match press conference ahead of the Australia game, India's captain, Rohit Sharma, provided an update on Gill's health. He stated, "The mood is pretty good as it is before the start of every big tournament. We've come into this tournament prepared really well, so quite confident about us skill-wise. We're looking forward to the game. Everybody's fit. Gill is not 100 percent, but he's sick. So, there's no injury concern. 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. So, he's not ruled out yet."

With Shubman Gill sidelined, Ishan Kishan is expected to continue as the opening batter alongside Rohit Sharma in the upcoming match against Afghanistan. Ishan had a tough outing in the match against Australia, failing to score any runs, and he will be eager to change his fortunes against Afghanistan. Additionally, with Gill unavailable, Shreyas Iyer is likely to feature in the middle-order for India's second ODI World Cup 2023 game. He also faced a dismissal for a duck in the match against Australia.