"I have never seen a cricketer 100% fit while playing" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma saying Shubman Gill has a 99% chance of playing IND-PAK clash
Aakash Chopra reckons Shubman Gill will be a part of India's playing XI for their World Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan if he is virtually fully fit.
The Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam-led sides will lock horns at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Gill missed the Men in Blue's first two games of the tournament due to dengue but the Indian skipper mentioned ahead of the Pakistan clash that the youngster has a 99 percent chance of playing.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was optimistic about Gill taking the field against the Men in Green.
"Shubman Gill is available, so it seems like he will play because he has practiced and batted a lot. He is 99 percent ifit and available, and I suddenly got the feeling of a soap ad that says 99.9 percentfof the germs will be killed. No one has been able to kill that 0.1 percent. Here also it seems like that," he elaborated (1:10).
"Honestly, I have never seen a cricketer 100% fit while playing because everyone has slight niggles or problems. So all of us manage but this is different. This was dengue. It takes time to recover after dengue - weakness, platelet count, and all of that. So I just hope that the medical team has given him the tick to play," the former India opener added.
Gill reached Ahmedabad a day ahead of the rest of the Indian team members. He practiced for about an hour on Thursday morning and had another extended session on Friday evening.
"Ishan Kishan is a gun player" - Aakash Chopra says India can manage without Shubman Gill
![Ishan Kishan opened with Rohit Sharma in Shubman Gill's absence in India's first two games. [P/C: AP]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/6f69d-16972532141928-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra pointed out that India have a suitable option in Ishan Kishan if Shubman Gill continues to be unavailable.
"We can manage without Gill as well because we have such a good team. Ishan Kishan is a gun player, there is no doubt about that. He might not be like Gill at the moment, will become in the future, but if Gill is available, he should play. If Gill is available, he will come in place of Ishan Kishan," he said (1:55).
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons Ravichandran Ashwin might pip Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur for the No. 8 position.
"There is a question about No. 8. Ideally when you play against an Asian team on Indian pitches, and the ball moves I say Mohammed Shami, and if not him, then Shardul Thakur, but you might see Ashwin playing here because it is being said that it is a turning pitch," Chopra reasoned.
Aakash Chopra's probable Indian XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill/Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami/Shardul Thakur/Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.