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The Tamil Nadu phenom and a hard-hitting batter Shahrukh Khan along with the young southpaw Ishan Kishan were added to the Indian squad for the first ODI against West Indies to be played on Sunday (February 5).
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Ishan Kishan and Shahrukh Khan to India's squad for the first ODI against the West Indies to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a media release.
India will be in focus as they face the West Indies in their landmark 1000th One-day International in the form of a series opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium. After being blanked 3-0 by South Africa in the ODI series in January, India would be back to playing in the comfort and familiarity of home conditions as they seek to shape their template in the format.
India’s way of working in the ODIs has been the top-order getting the bulk of runs and then expecting the middle-order to cash on it. But in the series against South Africa, neither of them worked with the middle-order becoming a glaring point of weakness. Skipper Rohit Sharma, in a virtual press conference on Saturday, said he doesn’t think that the template will undergo drastic changes due to the loss in South Africa.
The 26-year-old Chennai-born Shahrukh, known for his abilities to finish games, is a right-handed batter. He has played 33 ‘List A' games from which he has scored 737 runs.
During a virtual media interaction with ESPNcricinfo last week, Shahrukh said he would want to play a similar style of cricket if picked for India during the series.
“Playing for India is a huge responsibility in itself, and brings with it its own pressure,” Shahrukh said.
“There are some massive names in this team, and I have grown up watching them on TV. My aim – if I get the chance – would be to simply go with an open mind and enjoy my cricket, just the way I do for Tamil Nadu," he added.
“If I overthink this, then I would just create more pressure on myself and stray from my natural game. My aim in every game is to go out to the middle and play freely, without worrying too much about the results and focusing on the process instead,” Shahrukh further added.
Earlier on Saturday (February 5), Rohit Sharma said that Ishan will be accompanying him as an opener.
"Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me," Rohit said on the eve of the series-opener.
“Mayank was added to the squad and he is still in isolation. He came (joined) late and we have some rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them in (mandatory 3-day) quarantine. He has still not finished his quarantine, so Ishan will open the innings,” he added.
India's squad for the 1st ODI vs West Indies: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan, Shahrukh Khan.
