Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that Abhishek Sharma would return to India’s playing XI against Pakistan after recovering from a stomach infection.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has confirmed that Abhishek Sharma will return to action when India face arch-rivals Pakistan national cricket team on Sunday, February 15 in Colombo.
The left-handed opener missed India’s second T20 World Cup match against Namibia national cricket team due to a stomach infection. He was admitted to a hospital in Delhi and was discharged a day before the match. However, the team management decided not to rush him back into the playing XI and rested him for the game.
Upon arriving in Colombo, Suryakumar confirmed Abhishek’s return in a light-hearted manner. “If Pak wants us to play Abhishek, then done. He will play tomorrow,” Suryakumar Yadav says in jest.
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Putting the humour aside, the Indian skipper made it clear that Abhishek would feature in the playing XI for the high-voltage encounter on Sunday evening.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha expressed his desire to see Abhishek play in the crucial clash.
“I really hope – we all know he’s a good player and I really hope he plays tomorrow (Sunday) because we want to play against the best team they have and I really hope he is recovering well and can play tomorrow”, Agha said.
On Thursday, spinner Varun Chakravarthy had also provided an update on Abhishek’s condition. Speaking after the Namibia fixture, he said the opener was recovering well and had rejoined the squad.
“As far as I have spoken to him, he looks good. He did some practice today also. He told me he is on the way,” said Chakravarthy, responding to a CricketNext query after the Namibia fixture.
With Abhishek’s return confirmed, India will field a full-strength side against Pakistan in what promises to be one of the most anticipated matches of the T20 World Cup.
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