India vs West Indies: Ishan Kishan will open with me as he is only option available, says Rohit Sharma | Cricket News – Times of India

AHMEDABAD: India’s new ODI captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday said that Ishan Kishan will open alongside him in the first ODI against the West Indies since the youngster is the only available option for the team with late entrant Mayank Agarwal serving mandatory quarantine period.
Kishan was drafted into the ODI squad after Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad tested positive for COVID-19 and are now in isolation.
“Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me,” Rohit said on the eve of the series-opener.

Ishan Kishan (PTI Photo)
“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.

“Unless there’s an injury as we have a training today and there is nothing of that sort,” he added.
DHAWAN, GAIKWAD AND SHREYAS IYER MAY MISS ODIs
Rohit also made it clear that the COVID positive trio of Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Gaikwad are still in isolation and they are still not sure when they would be available.
“I have no idea,” Rohit said when asked when the trio would be available.

Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan (Photo credit: Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)
“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,” Rohit said.

The skipper understands that a situation like this can disturb the balance of the team.
“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 said.
‘HAVE TO TAKE TEAM FORWARD FROM WHERE VIRAT LEFT’
Rohit, who had replaced Kohli as the white-ball skipper, said that he just wants to keep things simple and take the team forward from where Kohli left.
“When Virat was the captain, I was the vice-captain. I just have to take it from where he left. Everybody knows what is expected out of them, we want to continue with the same template. There is not much we need to change. It is just that adaptability and being open to different things is what we have spoken of. It is not like I have to come in and change things drastically,” said Rohit.

Image credit: BCCI
“I just have to take it from where he left and it is important guys understand the responsibilities. This is what I will focus on, giving them the clarity on what is expected out of them,” he added.
When asked about potentially leading the Test side, Rohit said: “My focus right now is to lead India in the ODIs and T20Is against West Indies. I am not thinking too far ahead.”
POST COVID-19 WORLD, EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT ROLES
In COVID times, one might have to play in a position which isn’t exactly his preferred one, said the captain, who expects his players to be flexible.
“But these are times that we live and boys in the team understand that. Opportunity can come at any point and they have to be ready for it. But for the team, they have to do it and this is something that we have spoken at length and made it clear with everyone that this is the possible situation,” the skipper added.
“It can happen at anytime in these situations. So anyone coming in place of anyone should try and adapt quickly and get the game going on,” he made it clear.
‘THERE’S NOT A LOT WE NEED TO CHANGE’
Rohit believes that not much changes are needed in terms of ODI template.

Image credit: BCCI
“There’s not a lot we need to change. We just need to adapt to different situations of the game being presented in front of us. We have played good ODI cricket over the course of more than few years actually. Losing just one series doesn’t mean we need to create panic,” Rohit said.
“It’s just that certain learning and understanding that we need to take into our game and South Africa series provided great learnings into what we didn’t do collectively as a team. Eventually, it is a team sport and everyone has to come in, perform and then win the game. It cannot happen with one or two guys stepping up. It’s important that everyone comes and plays together in the roles given to them. What is important for us moving forward is the role clarity of certain individual in the squad. If we put that into place and talk to the individual about it, we can get what we want from different individuals in different points of the game,” added Rohit.