India white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday confirmed wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan will open the innings with him in the first ODI against West Indies tomorrow as COVID-19 and other issues have limited the hosts’ option for the series opener.
Kishan was added to the squad along with Mayank Agarwal after a COVID outbreak – following which openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, along with Shreyas Iyer and some staff members, tested positive.
With KL Rahul joining the squad from the second ODI and Agarwal still quarantined, young southpaw Kishan is the only option left to open the innings in the first game.
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“Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me,” PTI quoted Rohit as saying at a presser on the eve of the series-opener.
“Mayank was added in the squad and he is still in isolation. He came (joined) late and we have some rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them in (mandatory 3-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 today and there is nothing of that sort,” Sharma, who recently returned from a month-long injury due to hamstring injury, added.
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Sharma there is no certainty about when the likes of Dhawan, Iyer and Gaikwad will be available for selection. “At the moment the three guys are in isolation. They are doing pretty well and that’s a good thing. But yeah, it’s so uncertain. Last minute, you will see any one turning positive and you have to make a change and get someone else.”
India are hosting the Caribbean side for a three-match ODI series, with all matches set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The match will be India’s 1000th in the ODI format and the two-time world champions will become the only team to reach that milestone tomorrow.
