New threat awaits India

HYDERABAD: Having stirred a debate after being left out of the team 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, but he may not be asked to open during the three-match series starting here on 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 Kishan 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 Rahul’s unavailability means Kishan is expected to keep wickets.

In a World Cup year, every game is significant and India would aim to build on the gains from the Sri Lanka series even though the performance of its opponent was underwhelming.

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 alarm bells ringing in the New Zealand camp.

While he was one of India’s steady batters in ODIs in 2022, Shreyas Iyer failed to convert his starts in three games as scores of 28, 28 and 38 would suggest and to make matters worse, the middle-order batter now has been ruled out of the three-match series against New Zealand owing to a back injury.

In Iyer’s absence, the indomitable Suryakumar Yadav will get at least three chances to cement his place in the side. Rajat Patidar, who plays for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, has been named as Iyer’s replacement. Besides Rahul, Axar Patel has also been given a break for the series and his like- for-like replacement in the eleven could be Shahbaz Ahmed.

India has so far preferred to play a finger and a wrist spinner each in the playing eleven, leaving it to choose between Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Though New Zealand doesn’t have the services of star players like Kane Williamson and Tim Southee for the series, the host will have to be at its best to better the visitor.