Rohit reveals update on Shubman Gill’s fitness ahead of Pakistan World Cup match

Gill has missed the opening two matches of the tournament due to illness and was even admitted to a hospital in Chennai earlier this week to help with his recovery.

But the dynamic right-hander has made giants strides over the last couple of days in his bid to take on Pakistan and looks likely to be available for selection for the big clash in Ahmedabad.

Rohit fronted the pre-match press conference ahead of the Pakistan clash on Friday and the India skipper was optimistic on Gill’s fitness.

“99 percent he (Gill) is available,” Rohit said.

“We’ll see tomorrow (Saturday) about that.”

The potential inclusion of Gill could mean Ishan Kishan misses out on selection despite the fact he managed a more than handy knock of 47 against Afghanistan when partnering Rohit at the top of India’s batting order on Wednesday.

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could also be in line for a recall after he missed the Afghanistan clash despite a strong performance first-up against Australia, but Rohit was remaining tight-lipped about the make-up of India’s playing XI.

“I don’t know, honestly. I don’t know,” Rohit claimed.

“I still haven’t looked at the pitch yet, but we are ready for whatever combination we want to play. 

“That’s the challenge going forward for us as a team, depending on what kind of conditions we play in. 

“If there is a change or two, we need to make, we will be ready with that. And the guys have been informed very well in advance about these kind of changes. 

“So, I don’t think it’s going to be any issues with the players. But if the requirement is there for us to play three spinners, we will play three spinners.”

India’s head-to-head record against Pakistan at 50-over World Cups is unblemished, with Rohit’s side having won all seven contests between the two Asian rivals since they first met in Australia in 1992.

That unflattering statistic was mentioned to Babar Azam during his pre-match press conference on Friday and the Pakistan skipper was quick to move his focus to what he can achieve at this World Cup.

“I don’t focus on the past; I try to focus on the future,” Babar said.

“Such records are made to be broken and I try to break them. I will try to give a good performance tomorrow, on the day. 

“It depends on the day how you play. I believe my team did well in the first two matches and will do well in the next matches as well.”

Babar instead wanted to focus on the occasions that Pakistan have prevailed against India, with the influential captain quick to point out their memorable triumph at the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and then again at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021.

“We were not able to execute in the past, but we changed it in 2021 and 2017. We won against India in the World Cup. We hadn’t done that before, but we did it,” Babar noted.

“We believe that we can do it and we will go with full confidence.

“Tomorrow – you never know, but we believe that we can do it. We will go with full confidence and give our best.”