Rohit Sharma confirms Ishan Kishan’s batting position: “He will be batting in the middle order”

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma has confirmed that Ishan Kishan will be batting in the middle order in the ODI series against New Zealand at home, which begins in Hyderabad on Wednesday, January 18.

Kishan was part of the Indian squad for the ODIs against Sri Lanka. However, he did not get to play a game as Shubman Gill was preferred over him as Rohit’s opening partner. However, KL Rahul’s absence due to personal reasons has opened up a keeper-batter’s position in the middle order.

Shreyas Iyer has also been ruled out of the ODIs against New Zealand due to a back injury, with Rajat Patidar being named as his replacement.

At a press conference ahead of the series, Rohit was asked if there was a chance of Kishan batting in the middle order against the Kiwis. The Indian skipper confirmed:

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

Ahead of the India-Sri Lanka ODIs, Rohit made it clear that Gill would get a long run at the top of the order, stating that he deserved the same based on his performances.

Gill was rested for the ODIs against Bangladesh. After Rohit got injured, Kishan came in for the last match and smacked the fastest double hundred in men’s ODIs.

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“You want to play your best XI” - Rohit Sharma opens up on team combination

Team balance is one area where India have had to do a juggling act, be it at the top of the order, the middle or the tail. Speaking about the importance of getting the combination right, Rohit admitted:

“Preferably, we don’t want to compromise on anything. You want to play your best XI. That is something that is going to be challenging for us - No. 8, No. 9, which is why we brought Shardul (Thakur) in. His ability with the bat can give us that edge at No. 8. But yeah, this is one aspect where we can be challenged if we lose wickets in the middle.”

The 35-year-old asserted that having multiple spinners who can chip in with the bat has aided their cause. He elaborated:

“Luckily, we have got spinners, who are all-rounders who can bat. Washi, (Washington Sundar), Axar (Patel), (Ravindra) Jadeja, Shahbaz Ahmed - those guys can give us the depth. But yeah we cannot forget those two quality wrist-spinners (Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav). You need to look at the broader picture for the final XI.”

Left-arm spinner Axar's improvement with the bat has helped India tremendously in recent series'. However, like Rahul, he too is unavailable for the series against the Kiwis due to personal reasons.