India skipper Rohit Sharma met former (World Wrestling Entertainment) WWE wrestler The Great Khali in Ahmedabad. India are set to start their Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign with a match against Australia in Chennai. While the other Indian players were at the venue ahead of their first game, Rohit had to travel to Ahmedabad for the pre-World Cup captains’ meet. 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 Ocotber 5.
Meanwhile, Khali also had a message for the Pakistan cricket team.
Khali also shared an Instagram story in which he was seen wearing the ‘Biggest Cricket Fan’ tag.
The Indian team’s worries ahead of its opening World Cup game against Australia have been compounded with in-form Shubman Gill suspected to be suffering from dengue and the batter is a doubtful starter for Sunday’s match against Australia.
Ishan Kishan could open the innings in case Gill is ruled out. The BCCI is yet to confirm the nature of the illness.
“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 medical update from BCCI stated.
Gill, India’s most prolific batter in ODIs in recent times, is reportedly down with high fever and will be tested for dengue on Friday before a final call is taken on the matter.
The recovery from dengue normally takes 7-10 days for a player to be match-fit again. However, if there is a significant drop in the platelet count, it could take much more time.
While Gill could be a non-starter against Australia, there is a high chance that he won’t play against Afghanistan (October 11) and Pakistan (October 14) in case the recovery takes more time.
Gill, who has scored 1,200 runs this season, has forged a successful opening stand with skipper Rohit Sharma of late. If he is absent for a long period of time, it could well be a big setback for the Indian team.
(With PTI Inputs)
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