Rohit backs Ishan's aggressive approach: 'We need to give him opportunities'

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma has indicated young wicketkeeperbatter Ishan Kishan will get more opportunities in Tests to harness his potentialIshan made his Test debut against the West Indies in the first Test at Roseau which India won by an innings and 141 runs and Rohit said he was clearly impressed with Ishans keeping for the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja when the ball was turning copiously and bouncing as wellIndia play their second Test against the Caribbean side from Thursday and will hope to make a cleansweep in the twomatch seriesThe 25yearold limitedovers specialist has been making a good first impression in Tests that too in an overseas Test bodes well for the young player especially when Rishabh Pant is out of the India side due to a horrific car accident suffered late last yearOn how he sees Ishans first Test especially when Rishabh is not a part of the India squad Rohit said Ishan is a very talented guy Weve seen it in the short career that hes had for India He recently made 200 runs in limitedovers ODI against Bangladesh last December He has the game and the talent and we have to harness that talentSo we need to give him opportunities Hes a lefthanded batter and likes to play a lot of aggressive cricketThe captain also said he had spoken to Ishan on how he wanted the youngster to play his gameI have had a clear conversation with him on how I want him to play and have given him complete freedom He has the game and if he wants a bit of freedom to express himself then that is our job We will do that with IshanWhile Ishan got to bat only 20 deliveries as India declared its first innings Rohit said he was thoroughly impressed with the players keeping skills especially when the ball was turning a lotI will like to speak specifically about his wicketkeeping He kept really really well considering he played his first Test and to keep against Ashwin and Jadeja where the ball is turning and bouncing and some balls keeping low as well I was very impressed with his keeping skillsUnfortunately he got to score just one run as we had to declare We want that our toporder batters bat long If the opportunity comes to bat long he Ishan is raring to go added RohitThe skipper ruled out drastic changes in the winning combination ahead of the second Test but admitted that inclement weather hasnt helped in getting clarity about the Queens Park Oval track hereIndia won the first Test by a huge margin and unlike earlier times the Indian skipper had made a refreshing change by announcing Yashasvi Jaiswals debut and Shubman Gills new batting positionIn Dominica first Test venue we had a clear idea when we saw the pitch and knew the conditions Here we dont have clarity as there is talk of rain but I dont think there will be drastic changes But whatever conditions are available based on that we will make that decision Rohit said ahead of the historic 100th Test against the West IndiesWhile the skipper didnt name anyone the only weak link in the lineup is leftarm pacer Jaydev Unadkat who didnt look as potent as Mohammed Siraj or Shardul Thakur in the openerAs a new ball bowler Rohit gave him only nine overs across two innings of which only two overs were sent down by him in the second inningsThe Indian team management cant be blamed if they have a third spinner in Axar Patel to make life miserable for the Caribbeans or use Mukesh Kumars way more incisive swing bowling if conditions remain overcastRohit expects West Indies to bounce back in the landmark Test between the two countriesIts an honour to be taking the Indian team into this game and it doesnt happen every day The two teams have so much history so much of good cricket playedI will expect no different in this Test I am sure they Windies will bounce back and it will be exciting for both teamsWith PTI inputs