IND vs AFG: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal In Contention To Join India Squad As Cover For Shubman Gill: Report

Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad could reportedly join the Indian squad as a cover for Shubman Gill in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. The right-handed batsman is currently down with dengue and has already missed India’s World Cup opener against Australia on Sunday (October 8).

And while he was expected to recover soon, he had to be hospitalized in Chennai after his platelet count fell. The India opener was reportedly in the hospital since last week and was only discharged on Tuesday (October 10). He was due to travel to Delhi with the rest of the team for the game against Afghanistan but could not. At present, he is in a hotel in Chennai and is highly doubtful about the game against Pakistan as well.

After the game against Afghanistan on Wednesday, India is scheduled to take on the arch-rivals on Saturday (October 14) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. And Shubman Gill’s participation in that high-voltage clash is highly unlikely.

Even if he recovers from the dengue fever and his platelets count gets back to normal, he is likely to be too weak to play a competitive game any time soon. And in such a case, the team management could ask for a cover. According to a report in The Indian Express, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection is likely to meet on the sidelines of the India-Afghanistan match in Delhi and would take a call on the opener’s participation in the World Cup.

Backup for Shubman Gill:

Shubman Gill is set to take more than a week to fully recover. In such a scenario, the selectors could ask the team management if a replacement has to be kept ready. In case the Indian team management asks for a backup, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to be the options. Both players recently helped India clinch a historic gold medal in the Asian Games.

India’s 2023 World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.