IND vs NZ | Unfortunate losing Rohit Sharma; Prithvi Shaw to ‘definitely’ open, reveals Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, on Tuesday, revealed that Rohit Sharma missing out is unfortunate for the team and Prithvi Shaw will ‘definitely’ open since he’s in the squad. The Board of Cricket Control in India have named Mayank Agarwal as the replacement for Sharma in the ODI series starting February 4.
Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma suffered a calf muscle injury during the fifth and final T20I, at the Bay Oval, and had to walk out retired hurt at 60* off 41. MRI scans were after he left the field and the results have revealed that his recovery time will coincide with the rest of the series in New Zealand. And hence, on Tuesday, the BCCI announced that Sharma won’t play a part in the rest of the tour. While Mayank Agarwal was named as Rohit’s replacement in the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series, starting Wednesday, Prithvi Shaw will make a come back in Tests. According to Virat Kohli, young Shaw will ‘definitely’ start in ODIs while KL Rahul will continue to play at 5.
“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 recover. In ODI cricket, Prithvi is definitely going to start, KL will play in the middle-order(at No.5). We want him to get accustomed to keep and play in the middle,” Kohli revealed in the pre-match press conference.
After India caused a 5-0 thrashing on New Zealand in T20Is, which Kohli believes is New Zealand’s strong point, the Indian captain is more confident about the ODIs - format India is more comfortable in. However, the team is well aware of New Zealand’s fighting spirit an will play accordingly.
“The last time when we played here we did well in the first three games, New Zealand won the fourth game but we came around and won the fifth game as well. There’s more time to work out our plans in the ODI format actually. New Zealand were more suited to the T20I format as they play more explosive and could really come after our side,” Kohli stated.
“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."
Meanwhile, Kohli has also come to the defence of his side’s fielding that hasn’t been top-notch of late.
“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 and committing to all of them,” he added.
When asked about his thoughts on NBA star Kobe Bryant's recent tragic death, the Indian captain said that it has added perspective to his own thoughts as the impact of the incident was gigantic.
"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games, watching him on the court. But I think when someone you’ve looked up to passes away like that it does put things in perspective. I mean like you get inspired by watching someone but you understand that at the end of the day, life can be so fickle and so unpredictable. I think a lot of times we get too caught up in pressures, what we need to do tomorrow, what shot we need to play. We really forget to enjoy life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life that we have," Kohli added.
"It did put things massively into perspective like not wanting to have control over things that are in front of you. And just embracing life and appreciating it. Because you realise that what you’re doing is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself."