The spotlight will be on opening batter Shubman Gill’s health as India gear up to face 5-time champions Australia in their opening match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.
ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023: Full Coverage
India go into their World Cup opener with looming doubts over rising star Shubman Gill’s availability as the opening batter tested positive for dengue just a couple days before the high-octane clash in Chennai.
India head coach Rahul Dravid provided an update on Gill’s health, saying he hasn’t been ruled out of the match yet as the medical team is still working hard to get him fit for India’s opening match in the 2023 World Cup.
“The medical team is monitoring on a daily basis. We have 36 hours, we’ll see what decision they make. He’s certainly feeling better today. The medical team hasn’t ruled him out as yet. We’ll keep monitoring him on a day-to-day basis. We’ll see how he feels the day after tomorrow,” said Dravid.
However, it seems unlikely that Gill will recover in time for the Australia clash. India Today reported on Saturday that Ishan Kishan trained hard in the nets, batting for long as he is being seen as a replacement for Gill, in case the star batter doesn’t recover from his illness.
Should Kishan play, he will open the batting alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul should make up India’s batting order, with Rahul taking the gloves. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja should be joined by Ravichandran Ashwin as the three all-rounders in the starting XI.
Ashwin could be preferred over Shardul Thakur given the spin-friendly conditions in Chennai. Kuldeep Yadav will play as the third spinner for India, along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as the two pace-bowling options.
As for Australia, they’re expected to field a similar line-up to that in the third ODI against India in the recently concluded series. David Warner and Mitchell Marsh will open the batting in Travis Head’s absence due to injury.
Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey will form their middle order. Glenn Maxwell will be key for Australia, as he provides a hard-hitting presence with the bat while also being handy with the ball in his hand, which could be crucial in the spin-friendly conditions at Chepauk.
Cameron Green and Pat Cummins should be the two all-rounders in their side. Adam Zampa will play as the out-and-out spinner alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood as the two fast-bowlers.
India’s predicted XI:
Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia predicted XI:
David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.