Indian white ball skipper Rohit Sharma said on Saturday that playing spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav together is definitely on his mind and that he will look into it in the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies. Team India will play three ODIs from February 6 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, followed by the T20I series at Eden Gardens, Kolkata from February 16. Rohit was to lead the squad in the ODI’s against South Africa, but a hamstring issue ruled him out. However, he is fit again and ready to lead the team.
“Kuldeep and Chahal have been great artists for us in the past and they made an impact in those years when they played together, in the middle they were left out because of the combination we wanted to get. It’s definitely on my mind to join them again especially Kuldeep,” Rohit said while answering an ANI question at a virtual press conference.
“We want to get Kuldeep in slowly, we don’t want him to be rushed. It’s important to give him some time to get into his own rhythm, we don’t want to put him in a situation where we ask too much of him too “I think it is important for us that we handle the situation carefully. Both players are important. Chahal played in South Africa and Kuldeep has just returned to the squad. Kuldeep has to play a lot of games to get his rhythm back and we understand that.” , he added.
Rohit also confirmed that Mayank Agarwal has not completed his quarantine period, so Ishan Kishan will open the innings with him in the first ODI.
“With COVID, it is uncertain what will happen. At the moment, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan are in isolation. They are doing well. In the first ODI, Ishan Kishan would open with me, he is the only option as Mayank is on was added to the squad, he is isolated because he came in a bit late. He did not end his quarantine, so Ishan will open the innings unless there is an injury,” said Rohit.
When India takes the field on Sunday, they will be the first international team to face 1,000 ODIs. Currently, India has 518 wins and 431 losses with 999 matches.
“There is not much we need to change, we just need to adapt to different game situations. We have played well ODI cricket in recent years, one loss in a series is not the reason for us to panic. Africa series has been a great learning curve for us in terms of not doing it collectively as a team,” said Rohit.
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“It is always important that everyone comes together. In the future, the role clarity of certain individuals is important in the squad. If we can talk to the individuals about it, we can get what we want at different points from different individuals.” he added .
India ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mayank Agarwal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (Available for 2nd ODI), Rishabh Pant, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur , Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan.
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