IND vs WI 1st ODI: Focus on middle-order; Ishan Kishan to partner Rohit Sharma at the top

Team India is set to embark on a new journey in white-ball cricket as regular captain Rohit Sharma is ready to lead the team for the three-match ODI series against West Indies, starting Sunday.

As multiple players are infected from Covid-19 and Mayank Agarwal still in isolation, Rohit confirmed on the eve of the first ODI that Ishan Kishan will partner him as an opener. The 34-year-old Indian batter also hinted in the pre-match press conference that the combo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal might return in the India Playing XI.

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Rohit, who has been returning from a hamstring injury, will be eyeing to score some big runs. If he augurs well with the bat then Rohit might overtake Virat Kohli's 1239 runs against West Indies at home. Rohit has scored 1040 runs, including 3 hundred, in 16 matches against Windies in India.

However, the focus will be on the middle-order which crumbled like a house of cards in South Africa. Rishabh Pant along with Suryakumar Yadav, and Deepak Hooda are likely to be the middle-order batters while Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, and Deepak Chahar could strengthen the lower middle-order in the absence of any genuine all-rounders.