India vs New Zealand 2019: Rohit Sharma in Line to Join Elite List in the Hamilton ODI

Indian National Cricket team vice-captain Rohit Sharma will lead the side in the last two ODI followed by the T20Is against New Zealand in the absence of Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, the selectors have rested Kohli in an attempt to manage his workload ahead of the 2019 ICC World Cup. Incidentally, Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are the two Indian cricketers who have played the most matches for India across formats.

Having sealed the series, the men in blues will clash with the Kiwis in the fourth ODI at Hamilton on January 31 (Thursday). In the previous encounter, the visiting team sealed the series beating New Zealand by seven wickets. They will be keen to keep their winning momentum going while the hosts will be desperate to bounce back.

Stand-in skipper for India, Rohit Sharma will make his 200th ODI appearance in the fourth ODI at Hamilton. He will become the 79th player to reach the milestone and among them, only two players had scored more runs at the same point in their career than Rohit’s tally of 7799 runs. Virat Kohli had 8767 runs after 199 ODIs and AB de Villiers 8520; Hashim Amla has 7896 runs from 173 ODIs.

Meanwhile, the Indian National Cricket team will also have the flexibility to rotate their squad before the showpiece event in England and Wales. Young batsman Shubman Gill, who has been into the headlines since the ICC U19 World Cup last year can make his way to the national side. Gill came into the squad in place of then suspended KL Rahul for his controversial comments on a talk show.

In addition to, MS Dhoni, who missed the last tie has also returned to training which will be a piece of good news for the management. The former skipper, who has been in excellent touch is likely to slot in the team directly with Ambati Rayudu or Dinesh Karthik making his way in.