Ishan Kishan likely to play in middle-order as India face plucky New Zealand

Having stirred a debate after being left out of the squad despite a world record double hundred Ishan Kishan is expected to be in the playing eleven in the upcoming ODI series against a tough New ZealandKL Rahuls unavailability due to personal reasons opens up a slot for Kishan but he may not be asked to open during the threematch series starting here on WednesdayKishan had to sit out of the Sri Lanka series despite scoring the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs against Bangladesh in the preceding seriesShubman Gill who was rewarded for his consistency and picked ahead of Kishan to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma made the most of the opportunities with scores of 70 21 and 116 in the Sri Lanka seriesAlso readInd vs SL 3rd ODI Ton machine Virat Kohli thrashes Sri Lanka with 166 runsNo changes are expected to the opening combination against the Black Caps but Rahuls unavailability means Kishan is expected to keep wicketsKishan has batted in the middleorder thrice in the 10 ODIs he had played therefore adjustment should not be an issueKS Bharat who is the second wicketkeeper in the squad is likely to warm the bench as he is more of a cover in Rahuls absenceIn a World Cup year every game is significant and India would aim to build on the gains from the Sri Lanka series even though the performance of their opponents was underwhelming to say the leastThe big takeaways for India from the Sri Lanka series was the performance of the top three and Mohammed Sirajs ability to pick up wickets with the new ballLike Gill and Virat Kohli Rohit also looked in sublime touch with scores of 83 and 42 but would like to get a big hundred which has also eluded him for some time nowKohli though is back to scoring hundreds at will and looks hungrier for runs more than ever which should set alarm bells ringing in the New Zealand campShreyas absence could be a boon for SKYWhile he was one of Indias steady batters in ODIs in 2022 Shreyas Iyer failed to convert his starts in three games as scores of 28 28 and 38 would suggest and to make matters worse the middleorder batter now has been ruled out of the threematch series against New Zealand owing to a back injuryIn Iyers absence the indomitable Suryakumar Yadav will get at least three chances to cement his place in the side Surya and Hardik Pandya in the middleorder will surely add firepower at the backendRajat Patidar who plays for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League has been named as Iyers replacement for the rubber against the visiting Kiwis Patidar has earlier been part of ODI team for past few seriesWill KulCha be back together or Shahbaz gets a lookinBesides Rahul Axar Patel has also been given a break for the series and his like forlike replacement in the eleven could be Shahbaz AhmedIt remains to be seen if the team management gives Shahbaz a go or bring in Washington Sundar who could be handy against the lefthanders in the New Zealand campIndia have so far preferred to play a finger and a wrist spinner each in the playing eleven leaving them to choose between Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav who provided the much needed wickets in the middle overs in the two games against Sri LankaWhether Kuldeep and Chahal could be played together like it used to happen five years back or the team management decides otherwise is there to be seenChahal did not play after the first ODI due to a sore shoulder but he should be available for selection for the seriesopenerSiraj Mohammad Shami and Umran Malik will be the likely specialist pacers in the team with Hardik Pandya being the allrounderNew Zealand strong enough even without WilliamsonThough New Zealand dont have the services of star players Kane Williamson and Tim Southee for the series the hosts will have to be at their best to better the visitorsStandincaptain Tom Latham played a blinder the last time the two teams met in an ODIThe team is coming from a high of a series against Pakistan in KarachiOpener Finn Allen who was not at his destructive best in Karachi would be looking to take the attack to the India bowlersThe hosts need to find a way to stop the belligerent Glenn Phillips who singlehandely won New Zealand the decider against Pakistan despite being halffitSquadsIndia Rohit Sharma Captain Shubman Gill Ishan Kishan wk Virat Kohli Suryakumar Yadav KS Bharat wk Hardik Pandya vicecaptain Washington Sundar Shahbaz Ahmed Shardul Thakur Yuzvendra Chahal Kuldeep Yadav Mohd Shami Mohd Siraj Umran MalikNew Zealand Tom Latham captain Finn Allen Doug Bracewell Michael Bracewell Mark Chapman Devon Conway Jacob Duffy Lockie Ferguson Daryl Mitchell Henry Nicholls Glenn Phillips Mitchell Santner Henry Shipley Ish Sodhi Blair TicknerMatch starts 130 ISTThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday 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