India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed that Ishan Kishan will open the batting with him in the first One-Day International against West Indies on Sunday.
India were put in a serious spot of bother heading into the three-match ODI series against West Indies when Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer tested positive for Covid-19.
In a virtual press conference on Saturday ahead of the first ODI in Ahmedabad, Sharma informed that the three batters were still in isolation.
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India added Mayank Agarwal to the squad but he is till in quarantine. KL Rahul, meanwhile, will be available from the second ODI onwards as he is on a personal leave.
“Ishan is the only option we have and he will open with me in the first ODI,” said Rohit. He didn’t specify if that will be the opening combination for the entire series.
“Shikhar, Ruturaj and Shreyas are still in isolation. Mayank was added to the squad and he is still in quarantine. He joined us late and we have certain Covid safety rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them in (mandatory three-day) quarantine. He has still not finished his quarantine, so Ishan will open the innings.
“Unless there’s an injury as we have a training session today,” added the skipper.
Update: After Rohit’s update in the press conference, BCCI issued an update regarding the squad.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Ishan Kishan and Shahrukh Khan to India’s squad for the first ODI.
Squad for the 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan, Shahrukh Khan.
The 23-year-old Kishan has played two ODIs, from which he has scored 60 runs with 59 as his best score. The southpaw has also featured in five T20Is from which he has scored 113 runs.
Kishan was also a prominent member for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
The 26-year-old Chennai-born Shahrukh, known for his abilities to finish games, is a right-handed batter. He has played 33 List A’ games from which he has scored 737 runs.
(With PTI inputs)
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