Senior Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has shared his views on the tough question of who should open the innings for Team India as the management is flooded with options right now. While the Indian captain Rohit Sharma has his spot fixed as an opener, however, the spot for his partner at the top and the backup slot is still open.
Recently, team India tested Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, and both the youngsters did amazingly well and scored a double-century each in ODIs. Before them, the team management had given a long rope to veteran Shikhar Dhawan, Dhawan had opened the innings for India and had also captained the side in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma. However, he lost his place in the squad because of an issue with his rate of scoring runs.
While Ishan impressed one and all with his recent batting performances in the ODI format, he has been struggling in the shortest format of the game. He managed 39 runs in three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and managed 30 runs in the ODI series against New Zealand. In the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, he scored 4 in the opening T20I against NZ and struggled for his 19 runs in the second game
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin talked about India’s opening batsmen and asked if Team India should go back to Dhawan. He said: “Only when the Top 3 failed, we had problems in the past. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli. We talk a lot about Rohit and Kohli, but Dhawan is a stalwart. He was silently doing his job. Will his place be a big void to fill for Team India?,”
He added: “Should we go back to Shikhar Dhawan, or should we groom Ishan Kishan, who has just scored a double hundred? Instead of backing a player on the basis of one huge score, we should see what the team requires. Which character will deliver under pressure? Which character will serve us for a long time?”
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team will lock horns against New Zealand in the series-decider 3rd ODI match in Ahmedabad.
