Ishan Kishan likely to play in middle-order as India faces plucky NZ

HYDERABAD: Having stirred a debate after being left out of the squad despite a world record double hundred, Ishan Kishan is expected to be in the playing eleven in the upcoming ODI series against a tough New Zealand. KL Rahul's unavailability due to personal reasons opens up a slot for Kishan, as he can also keep wickets, but he may not be asked to open during the three-match series starting Wednesday.

Kishan had to sit out of the Sri Lanka series despite scoring the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs, against Bangladesh in the preceding series. Shubman Gill, who was rewarded for his consistency and picked ahead of Ishan to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, made the most of the opportunities with scores of 70, 21 and 116 in the Sri Lanka series.

No changes are expected to the opening combination against the Black Caps but KL Rahul's unavailability due to personal reasons opens up a slot for Kishan as he is also expected to keep wickets. Kishan has batted in the middle-order thrice in the 10 ODIs he has played, therefore the adjustment should not be an issue.

KS Bharat, who is the second wicketkeeper in the squad, is likely to warm the bench as he is more of a cover in Rahul's absence. In a World Cup year, every game is significant and India would aim to build on the gains from the Sri Lanka series though the performance of their opponents was underwhelming to say the least.

The big takeaways for India from the Sri Lanka series was the performance of the top three and Mohammed Siraj's ability to pick up wickets with the new ball. Like Gill and Virat Kohli, Rohit also looked in sublime touch with scores of 83 and 42 but would like to get a big hundred which has also eluded him for some time now.

Kohli though is back to scoring hundreds at will and looks hungrier for runs more than ever, which should set the alarm bells ringing in the New Zealand camp.