Unfortunate won’t be able to play Ishan: Rohit in favor of giving Gill more chances
Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Monday made it clear that Ishan Kishan, like world number one batsman Suryakumar Yadav, will have to wait for his chances in T20 Internationals, despite scoring the fastest double century in the last ODI. India have six ODIs against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the next two weeks, the first of which will be played here on Tuesday.
Ishan made a world record 210 off 131 balls against Bangladesh in Chittagong last month, while Suryakumar hit his third T20 International century in his 43rd innings just a few days back. But Rohit clarified that Shubman Gill (took name) and Shreyas Iyer (hinted) would get more chances in these six matches. Rohit said before the first ODI against Sri Lanka, “Both the openers have done very well.
But looking at the performance of both the openers, it would be fair to give Gill a chance to do well. He has scored 687 runs in 13 innings at an average of over 57 with a strike rate of over 99. Rohit, the only batsman to score three ODI double hundreds, said, “Gill has scored a lot of runs in the last few matches, so has Ishan. I don’t want to take credit from him (Ishan). He played brilliantly for us, scored a double century. And I know what it takes to score a double hundred, it’s a great achievement.
He said, “To be fair to the players who have done well first, we have to give enough opportunities to these players before taking any decision.” Terming it as unfortunate, Rohit said that Ishan will also get opportunities as the team Before the World Cup to be held in October-November, 15 ODIs and Asia Cup are to be played. Rohit said, “It is unfortunate that we will not be able to feed Ishan. Given the way things have been for us in the last eight-nine months and the way things have been for us in ODIs, it would be fair to give Gill a chance and he has done exceptionally well at that level.
Rohit, however, assured that Ishan will remain a part of the plans. Rohit made it clear that form is important but so is format and hence he hinted without taking names that Shreyas Iyer will get a chance in the playing XI. The Indian captain said, “The players who have performed will get a chance. This is a common thing. Sometimes things get tricky when we compare players playing in different formats. I understand the form. Form is important as well as format.
It was decided long before Rishabh Pant’s car accident that Lokesh Rahul would be given the wicket-keeper’s job in the ODI format so that he could retain his place in the team by batting at number five ahead of the World Cup. Suryakumar played a key role in India’s 91-run victory against Sri Lanka in the third and deciding T20 International at Rajkot, scoring an unbeaten 112 off 51 balls as the team won the series 2-1.
Rohit said that all the players who have scored runs in difficult conditions will be given a chance. India have nine out of 15 ODIs to play against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia (three each against all three) in the next three months after which the players will join their IPL squads. Before the World Cup, India has to tour West Indies and take on Australia at home. There will be three matches each in both the series. There will also be an Asia Cup in September, the venue of which is yet to be decided.
