[Watch] Team India urge fans to get behind them ahead of 2023 World Cup opener against Australia
All the players from India's 2023 World Cup squad have sent out a message to their passionate fans to support them throughout the showpiece event. The Men in Blue will kickstart their campaign against Australia in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.
In a video posted by BCCI on Instagram, the players were seen urging the fans to give their full support to the team. They also assured that they would give it their all on the field for the country in their quest to achieve World Cup glory.
Here's the video:
Shubman Gill not yet ruled out of India's opening encounter
Indian captain Rohit Sharma, in his pre-match press conference, claimed that his opening partner Shubman Gill hasn't yet been completely ruled out of the opening encounter.
Gill has been in incredible form for the Men in Blue in 2023, especially in ODIs where he has scored a staggering 1230 runs with five hundreds including a double hundred against New Zealand.
While he is reportedly down with dengue fever, Rohit told reporters that the team management will not rule out his availability until the last moment. On this, he stated:
"Gill is not feeling well, giving him every chance to see how he feels. Not ruled out yet. Shubman Gill is sick, I feel for him. I want him to be well. As a human being first, not as captain. He is a young boy, has fit body and he will recover."
The hosts won the ODI series against Australia recently, but that arguably counts for nothing as the Aussies level-up their game in World Cups.
India's World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.