Hamilton [New Zealand], Feb 4 : As India and New Zealand get ready to lock horns in the three-match ODI series, skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday confirmed that Prithvi Shaw will indeed start in the playing XI.
Shaw came into the side after regular opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the series after injuring his shoulder in the matches against Australia.
Rohit Sharma has also been ruled out of the ODI series against the Kiwis after injuring his calf in the final T20I. Mayank Agarwal has been named as Rohit’s replacement for the ODIs.
“It is unfortunate that Rohit cannot be part of the ODI series, the impact he has had is there for everyone to see. We do not have any ODI tournaments to look up to, so it is ideal for him to get recovered. In ODI cricket, Prithvi is definitely going to start, KL will play in the middle-order. We want him to get accustomed to keep and play in the middle,” Kohli told reporters ahead of the first ODI.
The Kohli-led side has been hampered with fielding issues, and the skipper said that the team would look to rectify it. He also said that the side is coming off a competitive ODI series against Australia and it will hold them in good stead.
“In ODIs, we played a really hard-fought series against Australia, we lost the first match, but then came back to win the series 2-1. We will take a lot of confidence from that series, we will try to play positive cricket. We have to believe in our own plans, we know that New Zealand will not give up and we need to be vary of that,” Kohli said.
“The average of this team is 27, we should be fielding way better than we are. The fielding standard in the last series was not good from either side. In T20s, it can happen as you can get nervous. In ODIs we have had some bad fielding experiences, you do not expect it. I think it is about taking all three skills seriously,” he added.
India white-washed the Kiwis 5-0 in the T20I series and they will face each other in the first ODI on Wednesday.
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