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Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who had a battle with a stomach infection which kept him out of the T20 World Cup clash against Namibia in Delhi, was seen practicing in the nets ahead of the marquee clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at Colombo scheduled for Sunday.
After a golden duck in the title defence opener against the USA at Wankhede Stadium, Abhishek was hospitalised due to a stomach infection. While officially there has been no clarity on whether he will play or not, him being in the nets is an encouraging sign. Ahead of the clash, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha wished Abhishek a speedy recovery and expressed his team's desire to play against India's very best players. "I really hope - we all know he is a good player, and I really hope he plays tomorrow because we want to play against the best team they have, and I really hope he is recovering well and can play tomorrow," said Agha during the pre-match presser. Responding humorously to Agha's comments, Suryakumar Yadav said during the pre-match presser, "Chalo theek hai, if he wants him to play then we will play him tomorrow (Okay, if the Pakistan skipper wants him to play, we will play him tomorrow)." Abhishek, who made his T20 debut after India's 2024 World Cup title, has scored 1,297 runs in 38 matches and 37 innings at an average of 37.05 and a strike rate of 194.74, with two centuries and eight fifties and a best score of 135. He entered this year's T20 WC as the world's top-ranked T20I batter. In three matches against Pakistan, he has made 110 runs at an average of 36.66 and a strike rate of 189.65, with a best score of 74. Following the toss against Namibia yesterday, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav had said Abhishek "is still not fine" and "will miss a game or two." The Indian opener was hospitalised due to a stomach infection, according to a BCCI source. The southpaw was not looking well during the team dinner at the head coach Gautam Gambhir's residence on Sunday, and was the first to leave the place. (ANI)
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