IND VS NZ: Rohit Sharma calls Siraj ‘Rare Talent’, CONFIRMS Ishan Kishan to feature in middle-order in upcoming ODIs

Talking in the post-match conference, Indian captain Rohit Sharma opened up on India’s outing against Sri Lanka where the Men in Blue were pretty phenomenal.

Sharma highlighted the plus points and what made India almost untenable in the series finale at the Greenfield Stadium. Apart from this, he makes a remark on local boy Mohammad Siraj and shares more insight about the team.

Rohit Sharma on Mohammad Siraj’s improtance

“He is a very important player for us. He has improved his line and length a lot in the last two years. Now we are getting to see his outswing. He was not known for his swing but he did that against Sri Lanka. That is very good for the team if he can do that with the new ball consistently.”

Rohit Sharma said ahead of the first ODI in Hyderabad.

“He understands his bowling a lot better now which is a big thing in my view. He also knows what the team wants from him. All in all, he has become a very good bowler for us. He can take wickets in all phases and we need bowlers like him. We need to manage him and keep him fresh for the World Cup as well upcoming Tests against Australia.”

Talking about Siraj, he added,

“Was good to see how Siraj was bowling and deserved the slips. The way he is swinging the ball, he is a rare talent. And in the last couple of years, we have seen him go from strength to strength. We tried all sorts of things to help him get five but it couldn’t. But the confidence is there and we can see in the way he is running. He is working on a few tricks.”

Mohammed Siraj did all the talking with the ball as he went on to pick 9 wickets in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. In the last game, he registered figures of 32 for four as he helped India bowl out Sri Lanka for a paltry 73.

That was not all, he has also picked up wickets in Bangladesh. Hence, created a reputation of picking wickets with the new ball on the back of his good white ball form.

Rohit confirms Kishan’s place in the team

The captain also confirmed that Ishan Kishan, who sat out of the series against Bangladesh despite scoring a double ton in his last ODI innings, will be accommodated in the middle-order.

“Kishan will be batting in the middle order and I am glad he could get a run here after that fine knock in Bangladesh,” he said.

India’s next challenge will be against the Kiwis beginning with a 3-match ODI series. Rohit concluded by talking about the upcoming series, stating, “Not given too much thought about [NZ]. We’ll get there and see and there will be a change in combination from what we saw today. We want to work like we did in this series to get the result we want.”

Also read: Shreyas Iyer ruled out of ODI series against New Zealand due to back injury

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