India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate revealed on Friday that KL Rahul will continue to bat down the order and that Yashasvi Jaiswal will be paired with Rohit Sharma in the third ODI against Afghanistan on Saturday in Chennai.
Ten Doeschate’s remarks were further supported by the length of time Jaiswal and Rohit batted during an optional net session at Chepauk on Friday.
“The versatility of the batting line-up is fantastic. I don’t think it (Rahul batting up the order) is a consideration. We want to have a good look at Yashasvi as well. Obviously, he didn’t get around to scoring the last game, so, he will probably get another go,” PTI quoted Ten Doeschate as saying at the pre-match press conference.
“So I would imagine five batters plus Nitish Reddy and Washington. Nitish is obviously one of the batters, so, we don’t make a change in the top three from the last game,” he added.
However, given that India has already built an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, the former Netherlands international stated that some players, including as pacer Arshdeep Singh, would be rested for this match.
“We will be making a few changes from the first two games. I think part of the brief coming into the series was we wanted to try a few different combinations and give everyone a fair share of games. If someone like Arshdeep does very well in the first two games, he can take a rest tomorrow. The same point is applicable to some of the batsmen,” he said.
Prasidh Krishna, who was rested in the previous game, may be Arshdeep’s replacement. Harshit Rana, who recently joined the team, might not be picked right away. Ten Doeschate stated that after batting for a considerable amount of time in the intense sun during the second match in Lucknow, captain Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan are ready to go.
“Shubman…obviously, it was just the heat the other day and he didn’t come onto the field. As far as I know, he was absolutely fine up there. He was just cramping his calves a little bit. Ishaan on the shoulder, and now he’s fine,” he said.
According to Ten Doeschate, Kishan has made good development from a slam-bang T20 batsman to an ODI batsman capable of precisely timing the innings.
“I think with Ishan, the only concern was ever could he transform himself from a T20 specialist into a 50-odd player, potentially even a red ball player. I think he showed that the other night. By nature, he’s very aggressive and we still feel there’s space for that in this team. You do have some solid batters around him if you include them in the team. With Shubman and Virat, you have two of the more classical guys, who are going to bat through the innings. He (Kishan) is a very versatile player. He can bat on top of the order, he can bat in the middle and obviously the fact that he’s a top gloveman as well.”
According to Ten Doeschate, Kishan has recently ticked a lot of the right boxes.
“If you look at squad composition, he’s someone who obviously stands out with the highest performance and the pressure in the T20 World Cup and how he stepped into this team and played a crucial role out there. I think he ticks a lot of boxes and so on. Like I said, purely for versatility is something you want in your squad,” he explained.
The assistant coach was pleased with how India’s all-rounders have developed over the past few months in white ball cricket and praised Nitish Reddy for his overall growth.
“I would still say the majority of these guys are bowling all-rounders. When Hardik’s fit, he obviously wins a different tournament because he’s such a strong batter, such a strong finisher. That sort of role is difficult to find a finisher who can give you runs as well.
“Like I said with Nitish, for the last 18 months he’s shown glimpses of how important he can be to this team, particularly in this format. I feel his body’s getting stronger and I sort of feel he is the natural successor or backup to Hardik.
“But certainly nice to see these other guys chipping in and working on their games, — Dube and Harshit etc. The fact that we feel we’ve got guys who can hold the bat and obviously looking forward to the next 14-15 months, that is going to be very important, especially in South Africa when you want to play three proper out-and-out seamers,” he elaborated.
Given that both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are not participating in this series, Doeschate was nonetheless pleased to witness a potent second string pace battery.
“It’s fantastic. Like I say, one of the big things when this coaching staff started was always going to be the transition of the bowlers, particularly with guys like Shami not playing anymore. This week or a couple of weeks ago when we got together in Chandigarh to see those three young guys coming in fold, it was literally like a Wow moment.
“The way Gurnoor (Brar) has bowled in his first two games, to see a young Indian pacer hit 147, 148, it’s like, I’m sure you guys are all excited as we are. Obviously the T20 was a big lead up for the next 15 months and to balance the experience that this team has,” he said.
