Shubman Gill to miss second World Cup match with dengue

The news follows Gill's previous absence in India's tournament opener against Australia after being diagnosed with dengue

Shubman Gill will be sidelined for India's World Cup match against Afghanistan in Delhi this Wednesday as he recovers from a bout of dengue fever.

The news follows Gill's previous absence in their tournament opener against Australia, after being diagnosed with dengue.

The BCCI announced that Gill will not be accompanying the team to Delhi.

A statement explained: "Gill will stay back in Chennai and be under the supervision of the medical team."

India head coach Rahul Dravid had expressed optimism just two days before the Australia match that Gill might recover in time, saying, "We've got 36 hours to go, so we'll see how that goes. We'll wait to make a decision at the last possible moment."

However, the 24-year-old was unable to recover in time for the Afghanistan clash, confirmed by team captain Rohit Sharma. Sharma stated: "We waited until this morning, and he couldn't recover."

^{Shubman Hill made a century in his most recent innings against Australia (Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)}

Gill had been in outstanding form leading up to the World Cup, amassing an impressive 1,230 runs at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03 in 2023. He scored a superb century against Australia in his most recent innings.

In Gill's absence, India chose Ishan Kishan as his replacement against Australia.

However, Kishan was dismissed for a golden duck by Mitchell Starc. Nonetheless, he is likely to receive another opportunity to prove himself due to Gill's unavailability. Kishan had previously demonstrated his potential as an opener with three consecutive half centuries against West Indies in the summer.

India face Afghanistan match on October 11 in Delhi, and after they will head to Ahmedabad for a high-stakes encounter against Pakistan on October 14.