Captain Rohit Sharma has clarified that he will not play Ishan Kishan as an opener in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. The announcement was made at a press conference before the first ODI. Kishan scored a double century in the ODI series against Bangladesh. The young player was the opener for India in the T20 series against Lanka. There were speculations that Kishan would be dropped as a left-arm opener to replace Shikhar Dhawan. Meanwhile, Rohit’s announcement has come unexpectedly.
India is playing more ODIs this year with an eye on the ODI World Cup. The team tests for this will begin in the series against Lanka. Rohit’s response is that it is unfortunate that Kishan could not be included in the team for the first ODI against Lanka. “Ishan won’t open as an opener in the first ODI anyway. That is unfortunate. But the possibilities don’t end here. “We are trying to treat everyone in the way the team needs,” said Rohit.
India will play six ODIs in the next two weeks. Three matches will be played against Sri Lanka and three ODIs against New Zealand. Shubman Gill will be the opener along with Rohit in Tuesday’s match in Guwahati. “Both the openers are doing very well. But Gill needs to be given more chances,” Rohit said ahead of the first match.
Gill has been a consistent performer in the last few matches in ODIs. That is what gives the star an upper hand. Gill has scored 687 runs in 13 innings. A player with an average above 57 has a strike rate of 99. “Gill has scored a lot of runs for the team in the last few matches. Ishan is also not bad in that regard. I am not ready to dismiss Ishan either. He scored a double century in ODIs. That is not a small thing. A big achievement,” Rohit said.
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Kishan had a great performance against Bangladesh. He became the fastest player to score a double century in ODIs. “Those who have been performing well in the past still need to be given a chance. That’s why Gill is being considered,” Rohit clarified. Apart from Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav will not be in India’s playing eleven, Rohit hinted. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will occupy the middle order. KL Rahul will be the wicket keeper for India.
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