Gill, who arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, also took part in the practice session on the eve of the match.During the pre-match press conference, Rohit was asked about Gill’s potential inclusion in the lineup against Pakistan, and he responded by saying, “There’s a 99 percent chance he (Gill) will play.We’ll make the final call tomorrow (Saturday).”
Gill had been in Chennai for medical treatment, which prevented him from participating in India’s first two matches of the tournament against Australia and Afghanistan.
India vs Pakistan World Cup 2023: Will Shubman Gill be fit to play match vs Pakistan?
Gill looked in fine touch during an extended session at the Motera on Friday.
The manner in which Gill faced the bowlers at the nets, it hardly looked like he was hospitalised last Sunday for dengue, with the blood platelet level dipping to 70,000.
Against Ravichandran Ashwin, Gill looked absolutely regal as he played some crisp on-drives off the off-spinner.
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Not for once did Ashwin trouble him as he also lofted him for what would be a certain boundary in a match situation.
Against Mohammed Shami, however, Gill was more watchful as he defended him mostly while unleashing a few savage cuts against a left-arm pacer summoned for the net session.
After around 20 odd minutes at the bowlers’ nets, Gill entered the throwdown nets to face some heavy-duty fast deliveries from Nuwan, Raghu and Vikram Rathour.
A few deliveries did trouble him for pace but it still seemed like the time has come for him to replace Ishan Kishan at the top of the order.
During the day, Kishan didn’t come to the nets for the first hour and a half as he went through the fielding and warm-up game drill, which was a round of foot volley.
While Gill looked in good rhythm despite the two-week break, Shami breathed fire as he repeatedly beat Virat Kohli at the nets on the day.
Shami bowled at a brisk pace and there were two occasions when he squared up India’s No 1 batter and also beat him on another couple of occasions.
Kohli was also hurried once by Nuwan’s throwdown as he played an identical stroke like the one he played against Josh Hazlewood in Chennai and Mitchell Marsh dropped a sitter.
(With Agency Inputs)
