With former vice-captain KL Rahul unavailable for the New Zealand series due to personal reasons and Shreyas Iyer ruled out with an injury, opener Ishan Kishan has been roped in to complement Suryakumar Yadav in the Indian middle-order for the 1st One Day International (ODI) against the Tom Latham-led side. Since the hosts are all set to include Suryakumar and Kishan in the Indian playing XI, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels Virat Kohli should make a sacrifice in order to solve India’s selection conundrum
Young Rajat Patidar has been drafted into the Indian squad in place of the injured but it is unlikely that he will get a game. Suryakumar and Kishan have become sure-starrers for India in the absence of star batters Rahul and Iyer. Sharing his views ahead of the 1st ODI against New Zealand, former Indian cricketer Manjrekar opined that in-form batter Kohli should take up the No.4 batting position in the upcoming series.
“It’s going to be still tricky. One guy is going to be really upset. I have got an idea to sort this mess out. Have Shubman Gill bat at No. 3, he seems like he can handle that position, and then Virat Kohli sacrifices his No. 3 for a No. 4. He has done that before to Ambati Rayudu once, many years back against Sri Lanka. So that could be a way to sort it out. Ishan Kishan after his double hundred, left and right-handed combination at the top is not such a bad idea,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.
Rayudu had scored a hundred while batting at No.3 in the series against Sri Lanka in 2014. Kohli sacrificed his No.3 spot six times for Rayudu in ODIs. However, with the ODI World Cup knocking on the doors, it seems a bit tricky, especially after the kind of form Kohli has been in at his favorite spot.
Speaking ahead of the 1st ODI between India and New Zealand on Tuesday, Indian skipper Rohit confirmed that opener Kishan will be slotted in the middle-order for the series opener at Hyderabad. Despite slamming a sensational double century, opener Kishan was made to warm the bench in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Rohit-led Team India will meet New Zealand in the 1st ODI of the three-match series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday.
