IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma Confirms His Opening Partner For The First ODI

Indian white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has confirmed that left-handed wicket-keeper batter, Ishan Kishan, will be his opening partner heading into the first ODI against West Indies.

The 3-match ODI series begins on February 6 and India is in a tight spot. As many as 7 members tested positive this week, ensuring that they cannot be a part of the first ODI.

Shikhar Dhawan and reserve opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad are among the ones who returned positive results. As a result, India lacks an opener and so the BCCI had to call up Kishan for the series.

Rohit has now confirmed in the pre-match press conference that Kishan will be opening since Mayank Agarwal hasn’t finished his quarantine yet and will only be available on the day of the game.

“Mayank Agarwal has still not finished with quarantine. Ishan Kishan is the only option left. So, he will open,” Rohit confirmed.

Shreyas Iyer and Navdeep Saini also tested positive and will continue their isolation period. Meanwhile, the middle-order has been shored up after the recent debacle against South Africa.

Deepak Hooda has been called up for the first time since 2015. He may not play ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, who has become the first-choice following the positive case of Iyer. KL Rahul is expected to move back down to the middle-order as well.

India’s squad for the ODI series:

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan, Mayank Agarwal.

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