New Delhi: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma issued a major update on whether opening batter Shubman Gill will play the highly anticipated clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
After Gill arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, he also attended the practice session on the eve of the clash.
During the pre-match press conference, Rohit was quizzed about whether Gill would be in contention to play against Pakistan, to which he replied, “99 per cent he (Gill) will play. We’ll see tomorrow (Saturday) about that.”
The Indian opener was in Chennai where he was being treated, and could not take part in India’s first two matches of the tournament against Australia and Afghanistan.
Due to the illness, Gill was hospitalized but batting coach Vikram Rathour said, “He was hospitalized, yes, but that was more as a precaution.”
In 20 ODIs this year, Gill has scored 1,230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of just above 105. He has scored five centuries and five fifties this year, with the best of 208.
Rohit Sharma said “99% Shubman Gill is available for selection tomorrow”.
– Great news for India…!!!! pic.twitter.com/HLkzPMD5dm
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 13, 2023
The rivalry between India and Pakistan in cricket is one of the most fierce in the world, with matches between the two countries receiving significant global viewership.
After registering two back-to-back wins, India riding on high confidence will face traditional rival Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The India-Pakistan match will take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday. This match comes after India’s two matches against the arch-rivals during a winning Asia Cup campaign. One match, held in the group stage was abandoned due to rain while India registered a thumping win in the next clash during the Super Four stage.
India began their World Cup campaign with a victory over Australia, while Pakistan has two victories in two matches to build momentum ahead of the major encounter.
Fans will be hoping that megastars of Men in Blue, such as Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj keep up with their consistent performances to continue the country’s winning streak with Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and come out with 8-0 win against the arch-rivals in the World Cup.
India has dominated the head-to-head record in ODI World Cup matches with ‘Men in Blue’ winning all seven games against the arch-rival, boasting a 100 per cent win record till now.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.