Kolkata: India's captain, Rohit Sharma, acknowledged that having a lefty batsman in the top six would provide some variety but insisted that he had no desire in benching any of his hot hitters just for the sake of it.
India clinched the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka by winning the low-scoring second ODI by four wickets but a top six with only right-handers is indeed making this line-up predictable. Ishan Kishan, the quickest batsman to reach two centuries in ODIs, was benched because the team management intended to give Shubman Gill a long run in 2022 for his consistency.
"In the hindsight, it will be nice to have a left-hander in the top-order but guys who are being given the chance have got a lot of runs in the last one year," Rohit didn't beat around the bush about the fact that Kishan will have to wait for his next opportunity.—Inputs from Agencies
