India’s explosive opener Shubman Gill is likely not to take part in the World Cup game against Australia in Chennai on October 8.  Gill has been suffering from dengue fever and as a result, he might miss out on playing India’s first game against Australia. Ishan Kishan is expected to take his place and start the innings for India alongside captain Rohit Sharma.

The Indian team suffered a huge blow when Gill’s illness created a shadow over his playing chances in the vital World Cup fixture. The management will now have to shuffle their plans for the opening batting order.

“He’s under the weather, the medical team is closely monitoring him. We are hoping he gets better soon. We will have to wait on more updates from the medical team,” a BCCI official said.

If the Punjab-based batter is not available for selection then young batter Ishan Kishan is expected to get the nod to open the innings. During the net session, Kishan batted for close to 40 minutes. He played against both the Indian pacers and spinners. On the basis of this important warm-up session, there are high chances that Kishan will open the batting alongside skipper Rohit Sharma.

Kishan has batted at all the batting positions from No. 1 to 5 in ODI cricket though he has always preferred the opening slot. His top score in the 50-over format is 210 runs which came against Bangladesh in December 2022. The Jharkhand-based barter has also collected three half-centuries on the trot as an opener in the away series against the West Indies.

Talking about the Indian team, they will play against Australia in their opening game of the World Cup 2023 in Chennai. The Men in Blue will then be facing Afghanistan on October 11 in Delhi and they will follow up by locking horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14.