Ishan Kishan to Open in First ODI Against West Indies, Says Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma's full-time stint as white-ball captain will begin with the ODI series against West Indies on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma

(Photo: BCCI) 

India white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma believes that not much changes are needed in terms of ODI template. He added that giving clarity in roles to the individuals in the squad will be decisive going forward.

Sharma's full-time stint as white-ball captain will begin with the ODI series against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

"There's not (a) lot we need to change. We just need to adapt to different situations of the game being presented in front of us. We have played good ODI cricket over the course of more than few years actually. Losing just one series doesn't mean we need to create panic," said Sharma in the virtual press conference.

"It's just that certain learning and understanding that we need to take into our game and South Africa series provided great learnings into what we didn't do collectively as a team. Eventually, it is a team sport and everyone has to come in, perform and then win the game. It cannot happen with one or two guys stepping up," added Sharma.

He further remarked, "It's important that everyone comes and plays together in the roles given to them. What is important for us moving forward is the role clarity of certain individual in the squad. If we put that into place and talk to the individual about it, we can get what we want from different individuals in different points of the game."

Ishan Kishan to Open

Sharma confirmed that Ishan Kishan will open the innings alongside him in the first ODI on Sunday. He also said that opener Mayank Agarwal, drafted into the squad after Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad tested positive for COVID-19, is still in mandatory isolation.

"Ishan is the only option that we have and he will open. Mayank was added to the squad but he is still in isolation. He came late and we have some rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them into quarantine.

He has still not finished his quarantine, so Ishan will open the innings. Unless there's an injury as we have training today and there is nothing of that sort. Fingers crossed."

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal during a training session for India.

Image: BCCI

Kuldeep and Chahal in the Mix

Sharma admitted playing the successful wrist-spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will be on his mind as India try to get the right options for picking wickets in the middle-overs.

"It's going to be very crucial. These two guys have been great performers for us in the past and created an impact in those years whenever they played together. They were left out due to combinations we wanted, like getting an extra batter or seamer. It is why one out of the two missed out but it's certainly on my mind to get them back together."

At the same time, Sharma cautioned against rushing in Yadav into playing due to him being out of action after a knee injury and subsequent surgery in September 2021.

"Kuldeep, specially, hasn't played since the last IPL, got injured there and was out since then. He hasn't played a lot of games after that as well. So, we want to get him in slowly and don't want him to rush into things, otherwise it cannot do good for the team and also for him.

"It's important to give him some time, come into the groove, into his own and it will take a little bit of time. We don't want to put him into a situation where we are asking too much of him. For us, it is important that we handle the situation carefully. Both of these guys are important.

"Chahal played in South Africa and Kuldeep has just got back into the squad. Kuldeep needs to play a lot of games to get his rhythm back and we understand that."

(With IANS Inputs)