Ishan Kishan will bat in middle order, confirms Rohit Sharma

India skipper Rohit Sharma has confirmed that Ishan Kishan will feature in the upcoming New Zealand ODIs, went on to praise Mohammed Siraj, and discussed the need for contributions from the lower order.

In the pre-game press conference before the first ODI against New Zealand, India captain Sharma revealed that Kishan will return to the side in a middle-order role for the hosts:

“In terms of Ishan, yeah, he will be batting middle order. I’m glad he could get a run here after that fine knock in Bangladesh”.

Kishan scored a double century opening the batting in his last ODI against Bangladesh, but had to sit out the more recent ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Rohit also heaped praise on Mohammed Siraj, saying: “Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen how well Siraj has fared across all three formats. He has improved his bowling; his line and length have improved. He has especially worked on his outswing. Earlier, he wasn’t that renowned for swing, but he has shown his ability to swing with the new ball over the last series. 

“It isn’t an easy task for any batsman to face the new ball. Siraj has started understanding his bowling and what the team wants from him. Overall he has become a very good bowler for the team, one who can take wickets with the new ball and in the middle overs. He has also improved his death bowling with the IPL”.

The captain also stressed the need to manage the bowler well.

“We have to keep in mind that we manage him well, and keep him fresh till the World Cup and for the four Tests against Australia”. 

“You want to play your best XI. At the end of the day, all the guys taking the field need to be in some kind of form. At the same time not compromising on the strength of the eleven members that are there. And that is something that is going to be challenging for us, that number 8, number 9, someone who can bat at that point, which is why we got Shardul (Thakur) in. His ability with the bat gives us the edge at number 8.

“But moving forward that is one aspect of our team where we can be challenged if we lose early wickets or lose wickets in the middle.

“Having said that, if you’ve good seven batters who can do the job for us, not matter what the situation is, then you can look at your playing combinations as well. You’re going to play all over India, different pitches, different challenges. So you need to assess everything.

“Whether we can play with three spinners; luckily we have spinners who are all-rounders, who can bat: Washy, Axar, Jadeja, Shahbaz is in the squad as well. They can give us that depth we are looking for. But let’s not forget the two quality wristies that we have. So you just need to look at the broader picture, try and see what can be your best XI and based on that you make your final XI.”

India squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik.