Rohit Sharma hinted at a potential return of Shubman Gill for India's highly-anticipated ICC World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan. Indian captain also dismissed the talk of home advantage and said that both teams will enter the game as favourites having won the opening two respective matches in the tournament.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference in Ahmedabad on Friday, Rohit revealed that Gill is 99% available for the Pakistan game. Gill, India's top-ranked ODI batter, missed the opening two games due to dengue fever and his potential inclusion will be a big boost for the Men in Blue in the crucial game.
Gill arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday evening and batted in a special training session on Thursday. The Indian team arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday after their dominating eight-wicket win over Afghanistan. Ishan Kishan is likely to make a way for Gill if the latter recovers fully for the Pakistan game.
India will enter the game as favourites with seven wins in seven ODI World Cup encounters against Babar Azam-led side. The Men in Blue is also expected to enjoy home advantage in Ahmedabad but Rohit dismissed any psychological advantages going into the game.
"We'll assess the pitch and conditions and then take a call on our playing combination and Shubman Gill is 99% available for selection tomorrow," Rohit said. "I don't believe in psychological advantages. What happened in the past, is past. Both teams will start as favourites, both are equally better. We need to do well and carrying the momentum forward is important. We do believe in rhythm. Our bowlers have been in good momentum lately, they handled the pressure well and learnt a lot. We always discuss ticking the right boxes, always. It is nice to go into a World Cup to go with it."
India World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav