How Important is Shubman Gill to India's Chances?

India is hosting the quadrennial ODI World Cup's 2023 edition and starts the tournament as one of the favorites to lift the trophy. The Men in Blue have been in scintillating form of late across all formats of the game and are the top-ranked team in Tests, ODIs, as well as T20s according to the recent ICC rankings.

Talking about ODIs in particular, India has won 15 of the 20 completed matches since the turn of this year. They defeated the likes of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia in bilateral series, and also lifted the Asia Cup for a record 8^th time. Much of this success can be attributed to India’s strong batting line-up, which has put up match-winning scores or chased down targets with ease. Shubman Gill has been a vital cog in India’s batting order over the past few months. He is in red-hot form, becoming the top scorer in ODIs for this calendar year. Gill has scored a total of 1230 runs at an average of 72.35. His knocks include 5 centuries and 5 half-centuries. Gill was also the top run-getter during the recent Asia Cup.

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However, he was diagnosed with dengue last week after landing in Chennai as the team prepared to take on Australia for its opening match. Gill missed that match and is set to miss at least two more games, including those against Afghanistan and Pakistan, as he continues on the path of recovery. Dengue tends to leave the body pretty weak for a long time, even after the infection subsides, and it may take several weeks before Gill is 100% fit.

Can Ishan Kishan Replace Shubman Gill?

Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma have emerged as a consistent opening pair over the past few months as the duo have put up an aggregate of 1048 runs at an average of 87.33. Now, in the absence of his talismanic partner, Sharma will need to look towards the likes of Ishan Kishan to join him in the opening slot. While the southpaw is an aggressive batsman in his own right, he lacks the consistency and temperament of Gill. While it is still quite early to comment on Shubman's availability over the next couple of weeks, the team management may need to look towards finding a stable replacement if Gill’s recovery takes longer than expected. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the two frontrunners who may be likely to join the squad should the need arise. However, neither of them has the experience that Gill brings.

Given his recent performances, Shubman Gill has become an indispensable part of India’s batting line-up and his unavailability leaves a huge void in the team’s batting line-up.