India captain Shubman Gill remained tight lipped about the opening combination the ODI team would take in the lead up to the World Cup beginning England series. On a day where Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his second ODI century to press for a strong case for his inclusion, Rohit Sharma too scored 79 runs at the top. The knocks from the two followed a game after Ishan Kishan — another player who is fighting for the opener’s slot — scored a commanding century at Lucknow.
Now the attention turns to the all-important selection committee meet to name the ODI squad for the England tour. With Virat Kohli missing the series against Afghanistan, the team management had the opportunity to experiment in the batting order with all three getting opportunities. And most importantly, all three grabbed it.
Between the three, it is Rohit’s spot which is under pressure. Though he scored 79 runs off 69 deliveries, the century again went missing at a time when Ishan and Jaiswal are chasing his spot. If Kohli is fit and available for the ODI series, he will take the No 3 spot which means Gill would again move back to batting at the top. It leaves only one spot for India to accommodate Rohit, Jaiswal and Ishan.
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Asked about the route India are planning to take, Gill was non-committal. “I mean, it is a good kind of headache having all the players that are performing and I think the squad will be announced tomorrow or the next couple of days. So, we will see the squad and then we will have the best XI to put out anyway. I mean, we will see where everyone’s fitness is. If everyone is fit, like I said, we will see who is in the squad and based on the squad, we will try to make the best XI possible,” Gill said.
For Jaiswal it was a century with which he sent a strong reminder to the selectors. Having scored a century against New Zealand, he was initially not named in the squad for the Afghanistan series with Ishan taking his spot. Then with Kohli pulling out, Jaiswal was included and scored an unbeaten 110. With two centuries from his last three innings in ODIs, the left-hander has made a strong case for him to get a prolonged run. But whether India take four openers to England remains the question.
And Gill admitted that the entire situation hasn’t been easy for Jaiswal. “Honestly, we all know he is a phenomenal player. And it’s not easy for any player. If all the players are available, he is the unfortunate one who sometimes misses out. And because Kohli was not available in the series, he had the opportunity, he got a couple of games and he played really well today. So hopefully he will continue to perform and he will continue to keep grabbing the chances,” he said.
