Ravi Shastri said, 'Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli should bat at number-4 in ODI World Cup. Shubman should open with Ishaan. The team must also keep 3 left handers in the top-7. The former head coach of Team India said that Team India should not be in a hurry with KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. In his place, Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav should be given a chance in the Asia Cup.
Star Sports on Tuesday launched a special show called 'Selection Day' to select Team India. The show's panel included former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri along with former selectors MSK Prasad and Sandeep Patil.
Ravi Shastri said, 'Top-7 must have 3 left handers. Here the role of selectors is important, if Yashasvi and Tilak Verma are doing well then both should be kept in the team. If you are feeding Ishaan for 6-8 months then he must be kept in the team as well. Including Jaddu, 3 left handers are necessary in India's top-7.
You cannot play such a player (KL Rahul) directly in the playing-11 who is recovering from a knee injury. Even in that, if you make him wicketkeeping then it will be a big risk. There should be no hurry with Shreyas either. If I was a selector, I would have kept Tilak Verma in the middle order. The form in which he is at the moment, I would definitely like to keep him in the team. Suryakumar should be with him in the Asia Cup.
Ishaan should bat in the top order. The position of number 2, 3 and 4 in Rohit, Virat and Shubman Gill should be resolved. Shubman performed brilliantly in 2023. Rohit is an experienced player, he can bat anywhere in the top-4. That's why I would like to see Rohit at number-4.
I also felt in my coaching period that people do not give much credit to Shikhar Dhawan. He is a wonderful player. If Dhawan had not been injured in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, he would have definitely been in the playing-11. Had he been in the team, Dhawan would have saved the team in the semi-finals when the balls which were troubling the right-handers by swinging outside, would have saved the team there.
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