India skipper Rohit Sharma met former (World Wrestling Entertainment) WWE wrestler The Great Khali in Ahmedabad. India will start their Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign with a match against Australia in Chennai. While the other Indian players were on site for their first match, Rohit had to travel to Ahmedabad for the pre-World Cup captaincy meeting. The Indian skipper also crossed paths with The Great Khali at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium, which hosted the World Cup opener between England and New Zealand on October 5.
Meanwhile, Khali also had a message for the Pakistan cricket team.
Khali also shared an Instagram story tagged ‘Biggest Cricket Fan’.
The Indian team’s concerns ahead of the World Cup opener against Australia have been compounded with the in-form Shubman Gill believed to be suffering from dengue and the batsman a doubtful starter for Sunday’s match against Australia.
Ishan Kishan could open the innings if Gill is ruled out. The BCCI is yet to confirm the nature of the disease.
“He is sick, the medical team is monitoring him closely. We hope he gets better soon. We will have to wait for more updates from the medical team,” a medical update from BCCI said.
Gill, India’s most prolific batsman in ODIs in recent times, is reportedly suffering from high fever and will be tested for dengue on Friday before a final call on the matter is taken.
Recovery from dengue normally takes seven to ten days before a player is match fit again. However, if the platelet count drops significantly, this may take much longer.
While Gill could be a non-starter against Australia, there is a good chance he will not play against Afghanistan (October 11) and Pakistan (October 14) if recovery takes more time.
Gill, who has scored 1,200 runs this season, has built a successful opening stand with skipper Rohit Sharma of late. If he is absent for a longer period of time, it could be a major setback for the Indian team.
(With PTI inputs)
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