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Cricket Players'It will provide more time for Rohit to get settled': Ex-BCCI selector backs 23-year-old power-hitter to open against WI
India is set to play a three-match ODI series against West Indies, beginning February 6, and Mayank Agarwal has already been added to the squad.
The Indian team has been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak in their camp ahead of the white-ball series against the West Indies. Throwing the home side's preparations in a quandary, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Navdeep Saini (standby player) returned positive tests on Wednesday along with three support staff members.
The BCCI informed in a statement that Mayank Agarwal has been added to the ODI squad, which hints towards skipper Rohit Sharma's opening partner for the series opener on Sunday in Ahmedabad. Mayank's inclusion makes it clear that team management is not looking at Ishan Kishan for the role.
The Indian team has been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak in their camp ahead of the white-ball series against the West Indies. Throwing the home side's preparations in a quandary, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Navdeep Saini (standby player) returned positive tests on Wednesday along with three support staff members.
The BCCI informed in a statement that Mayank Agarwal has been added to the ODI squad, which hints towards skipper Rohit Sharma's opening partner for the series opener on Sunday in Ahmedabad. Mayank's inclusion makes it clear that team management is not looking at Ishan Kishan for the role.
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But former BCCI selector Saba Karim believes Ishan is the perfect pick for the opening slot alongside Rohit. The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batter isn't a part of the ODI contingent but the team management has reportedly kept him in the scheme of things.
"You don't have options left as well as your squad has been severely depleted because of the players who have gotten infected. Because of that, I feel we will see a new approach. "This will be the right combination as well because if Ishan Kishan opens with Rohit Sharma, the sort of character Ishan has, his strike rate is always high, which means he can take advantage of the powerplay," said Karim on India News.
The former India wicketkeeper-batter also underlined the right-hand/left-hand opening combination at the top, which features two players with different batting approaches. Ishan, who has so far represented India in seven games, flaunts a strike rate of over 130 in T20Is and ODI as well.
"It will provide more time for Rohit Sharma to get settled because he is a player who can play for a long time due to which India will also benefit. I feel this right and left-handed combination where both have different styles of playing, Kishan takes more risks on one side because of which the strike rate is very high," Karim further said.
Ishan had scored 59 against Sri Lanka last year and Karim believes the youngster's rise as an opener will be a positive change to the Indian team's white-ball template. The power-hitter from Jharkhand had scored a blistering 173 last year against Madhya Pradesh. It's the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batter in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy – India’s domestic fifty-over tournament. As far as Mayank's role is concerned, Karim feels he's been added to the squad as a backup option.
"I feel it is the right choice. Mayank Agarwal has been kept as a backup in the team at the moment. The other reason is also that Ishan Kishan's track record in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is exceptional. He has hit hundreds many times and whenever he hits a century it is a big one.
"It will be a very big value add for the Indian team if Ishan Kishan opens and plays a good knock for the team. This move will help us bring the change in the Indian team's white-ball template we have been frequently talking about," Karim further said.
