SKannan in New Delhi
An individual being laid low by dengue fever may seem normal in India after incessant rains. Even there, the patientis out of commission for at least a few weeks, and unable to perform most normal activities. This intensifies the debate over how soon Shubman Gill can come back to be part of India’s ICC World Cup campaign.
“If Gill was hospitalised, that means he had high fever and the blood platelet count would have dropped drastically,”said Dr PSM Chandran, a well-known sports medicine doctor who has been part of the Indian system for over five decades. “Administering platelets (intravenous) does not mean a person is back to normal life in one day. Out here, if we are talking of serious, hard cricket, there is no way Shubman Gill can be rushed back.”
Having served the Sports Authority of India and even treated someone like PT Usha in her heyday, Chandran is now part of the Odisha government’s project to set up a sports medicine centre in Bhubaneswar. Dr Chandran has seen and treated various athletes across multiple sports.
Speaking on Gill, he said: “There should never be any hurry when an athlete has been felled by dengue. The recovery process may be good in clinical terms of platelet increase after infusion but that does not mean you can play hard cricket the next day.”
At a time when a debate is on as to who could/would replace Gill in the World Cup squad, the BCCI has been keeping mum. Ruturaj Gaikwad andYashasvi Jaiswal have been spoken of as likely candidates. Gill is certainly out for the India-Afghanistan match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on October 11. For those speculating if Gill can make his way back for the marquee India-Pakistan clash in Ahmedabad, that is looking too far ahead.
This team has dealt with several fitness issues in recent times, from JaspritBumrah’s back to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul having missed plenty of cricket in the summer. To be emotional and plead that Gill must play for India is nice, but fitness in terms of playing in the heat and being ready for the grind is not something which can be assessed so easily.
“Assessing muscular injuries and treatment is something which is done for athletes very easily,” stressed Dr Chandran. “Today, almost all sports teams in India have doctors, physios and trainers. It is not possible to rush Gill back into training when he is so weak where he needed hospitalisation.”
The BCCI must ensure Gill recovers fully because the side effects of dengue are harsh, with extreme body pain in joints and overall weakness. Only the medical wing of the BCCI has a likely answer for when he’ll be back.