India vs Pakistan World Cup 2023: Will Shubman Gill play on Oct 14? Here's what we know

Opener Shubman Gill's inclusion in the team for the big-ticket World Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan on October 14 has become the talk of the town. Gill was out of the final lineup for two crucial matches against Australia and Afghanistan after he was diagnosed with dengue, following which, he was hospitalised in Chennai due to a dip in his platelet count.

Till Tuesday, there was very little chance of Gill being available for the Pakistan match. But he was discharged from the hospital and he reached Ahmedabad on Thursday morning and attended the practice session - his first in more than a week after he fell sick.

In footage aired by Star Sports, Gill looked in a jovial mood before attending the gruelling practice session in the afternoon. He was accompanied by Team India physio Kamlesh and throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne.

Besides batting against some net bowlers, he also took throw-downs from Seneviratne.

He is expected to attend another full-fledged practice session with the rest of the Indian cricketers on Friday evening, following which the team management is expected to take a call regarding Gill's inclusion in the team, which will be his first match in World Cup 2023.

Gill's training session has raised hopes of his return for the big match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera. But experts are still doubtful about his appearance in the match tomorrow.

Former India captain and ace batsman Sunil Gavaskar has urged the team management to be cautious while handling the recovery of Gill. He said that the team should not worry if the young opener is not available for India's clash against Pakistan.

Gavaskar said Shubman Gill would himself know whether he would be able to bat for long in the high-pressure game.

"Well, I think it depends on tomorrow (Friday). He had a net today. How his body holds up is going to be the key. He will himself know whether he is fit. Here, there is no hiding, no hiding in the sense. If you bat first, you might be able to say you have an injury and not come out to the field. But as a batter, if you are not going to be able to bat 40 overs because you don't have the strength... you might have that little bit of weakness, you are not doing your team a favour," Gavaskar told India Today.

On the other hand, former India chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said Gill will definitely play against Pakistan in Ahmedabad.

"I think we can put an end to all kinds of speculations. Shubman Gill will definitely play this game (vs Pakistan). He's too good a player to miss out. He had just a fever. He has recovered. It was not threatening at all that we would even think about replacements," Prasad said.

Prasad said Gill did not travel to Delhi for India's match against Afghanistan due to precautionary reasons. "What we heard was that as a matter of precaution, he couldn't play the second game otherwise he was fine. He stayed back for one more day in Chennai as a precaution. He recovered well, and was discharged. See if someone is playing for 1 hour that means he has recovered. This is an all-important game against Pakistan. If he is fit, which I'm sure he is, then he should be in India's playing XI," he added.

Gill has had an impressive performance in ODIs throughout 2023. So far in 2023, Gill has played some exceptional innings in ODI cricket. He has scored a total of 1,230 runs in just 20 ODIs, making him the leading run-scorer in this format this year.

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