Shubman Gill ruled out of India’s next World Cup match against Afghanistan

Indian opener Shubman Gill has been ruled out of India’s upcoming World Cup 2023 clash against Afghanistan, with the youngster still yet to recover from his illness. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the development on Monday, with the statement also reading that Gill will remain in Chennai while the rest of the squad will be in Delhi for the clash against Afghanistan.

“Team India batter Shubman Gill will not be travelling with the team to Delhi on 9th October 2023. The opening batter who missed the team’s first fixture in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai is set to miss the team’s next fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on the 11th of October. He will stay back in Chennai and will be under the supervision of the medical team.”

Gill missed India’s opening clash of the World Cup against Australia, and in his absence the Indian top order came up a cropper, with Ishan Kishan, who replaced the right-hander in the XI departing for a duck. Apart from Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer too failed to score a run, and it came down to a superb 165-run partnership between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to eventually fuel India’s win.

With Gill now missing the second match in a row, Indian cricket fans will hope for the in-form batter to recover in time ahead of the marquee World Cup clash against Pakistan on October 14th in Ahmedabad.