India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed the name of his opening partner for the first ODI against Sri Lanka as he picked Shubman Gill over Ishan Kishan, the man who had scored a double ton in his last 50-over match. Former pacer Venkatesh Prasad has criticized the exclusion of Ishan Kishan from India’s playing eleven, saying “there is no way you drop a player for scoring a double hundred.”
“Think fair would have been to give chance to a man who scored a double hundred in India’s last ODI, and in a series where India lost two games and the series.
“Have all the time in the world for Gill, but no way you drop a player for scoring a double ton,” Prasad said in a series of tweets.
Think fair would have been to give chance to a man who scored a double hundred in India’s last ODI, and in a series where India lost two games and the series.
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) January 9, 2023
Have all the time in the world for Gill, but no way you drop a player for scoring a double ton. https://t.co/LbzKKH8ynw
I am not going to take anything from Ishan: Rohit Sharma
Indian skipper Rohit answered several buzzing questions in his pre-match press conference on the eve of the 1st One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. Returning to the Indian side after missing the Bangladesh Tests and the Sri Lanka T20Is due to a dislocated left thumb, Rohit, along with Virat Kohli, will lead the batting charge of the Indian side.
“Both openers (Gill and Kishan) have done really well. But looking at how both have gone through, I think it is fair that we give Gill a chance to have a fair run because, in the last games, Gill got a lot of runs as well,” Rohit said in a press conference on the eve of the first ODI.
“I am not going to take anything from Ishan. He has been wonderful for us. He got a double hundred and I know what it takes to get a double hundred, it is a great achievement. But just to be honest and be fair to the guys who have done really well before that we need to give those guys enough chances as well,” Rohit said.
“It is unfortunate that we won’t be able to play Ishan but looking at how things have panned out for us in the last 8-9 months, looking at how the ODIs have gone through for us, it is fair to give Gill that run and he has done extremely well in that position. We will definitely try out and keep Ishan in the mix and see how things pan out for us as we play lot of games ahead,” said Sharma.
