Rohit Sharma is set to lead India in the upcoming 3-ODI series against West Indies. All three matches of the ODI series will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first game is scheduled to take place on Sunday followed by the second on February 9 and the third and final ODI on February 11.
The first ODI is special in Indian cricket as this will be the 1000th ODI for India who will become the first team to play 1000 ODIs.
However, the Indian team has been given some major blows even before the series starts. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad and the reserve bowler Navdeep Saini tested positive for covid-19 along with three other support staff members. These players have been kept in isolation and have been confirmed to miss the first ODI.
India will also be without opener and vice-captain KL Rahul, who is unavailable for Sunday’s game. With both Dhawan and Gaikwad testing positive, the selectors added Mayank Agarwal to the squad, however, he’s yet to complete his quarantine, Rohit confirmed, and hence will also not be available for the first ODI.
With that, Rohit Sharma, in his first press conference as the full-time ODI captain, on Saturday, announced that he will open alongside Ishan Kishan, who was in the T20I squad and was drafted late in the squad.
“Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me. Mayank was added to 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,” Rohit said on Saturday.
Kishan played a couple of ODIs last year versus Sri Lanka when he struck a fifty on debut.
Rohit also made it clear that he had “no idea” when the covid positive trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Gaikwad will be available to play and whether they will take part in the remainder of the series.
“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.
“Look, it is a tricky one (situation). With Covid, there is so much uncertainty and if it happens, how long it takes for recovery is different as every individual is different. Sometimes, it takes 7-8 days and sometimes, it can take 14 days,” he explained.
