Rohit, Ishan in Focus as Stern Afghanistan Challenge Awaits Team India in New Delhi

A number of school-level cricketers showed up at the Arun Jaitely Stadium to watch Virat Kohli train on the eve of India’s next World Cup fixture. But eventually, they all discovered that the local hero didn’t show up in the nets along with India’s bowling unit. It was an optional training session which was attended by a handful of players. The guys who turned up were those who failed to score a single run in the last encounter against the Aussies at Chepauk.

Skipper Rohit Sharma and his opening partner Ishan Kishan sweated it out in the nets for a brief period against the net bowlers. Next to them was Shreyas Iyer who was middling almost every ball with perfection.

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The kids at the Mohinder Amarnath stand cheered loudly for Rohit and Ishan whenever they hit the ball hard. But it took the India openers some time to get into the groove. Meanwhile, Rohit was hit below the left knee and was visibly in pain, giving an injury scare. But he was back again and carried on for another 45 minutes.

Eyes on Ishan

A lot depends on India’s current top two, given the fact the return of Shubman Gill is still uncertain. The Punjab batter is recovering from an illness and is likely to miss the next game – the big one against Pakistan – as well. Until he isn’t around, Ishan has to take charge with Rohit at the top of the order.

Batting coach Vikram Rathour, who addressed the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, was asked if the management has had any conversation with Ishan on his opening role. Rathour replied there’s no need for a specific discussion as the 25-year-old has batted as an opener in the past.

“No, he has opened in the past and he has played as an opener. So, no specific discussion on that. He understands the moment. That was the reason he has been in the team. We knew that he can bat top of the order or in the middle order. So, he has done that before. So, no specific discussion on that. Just hoping that he comes good tomorrow,” Rathour said.

On the other hand, Shreyas seemed to be in a different zone altogether. His confidence was visible and the clean strokeplay showed he is raring to go against Afghanistan, especially after failing to contribute in the last encounter in Chennai.

Change in combination vs Afghanistan?

India fielded three spinners against Australia and they excelled on the Chepauk track, sharing six wickets among each other. But as they come to Delhi, will the management go with the same combination? The opening game at Kotla – between South Africa and Sri Lanka – saw a run-fest with a couple of World Cup records being created.

CricketNext has learned that the strip that is to be used for the IND vs AFG game has been prepared with black cotton soil – more clay content which means more turn and less bounce. In all likelihood, the hosts might go with an unchanged XI but Rathour didn’t give away anything specific on that at the presser.

“We’ve just come. Captain and coach are there. I think they’ll look at the wicket, they’ll assess the surface and then decide. I haven’t been, we haven’t had any discussion on that yet,” the India batting coach said.

Looking to play good cricket vs Afghanistan

Not just Team India but Afghanistan too have a bunch of excellent spinners who have troubled Indian batters in the past. The likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman are the guys who highlight the Afghan spin attack and have the capability to challenge any big team on a given day.

However, as per Rathour, the Indian team isn’t preparing against any particular player.

“We’re not looking at players’ names, we are looking to do our things right, we are trying to focus on the process and we have the belief that the team that we have if we can do our things right and just focus on the process and not worry on the result, we’ll achieve what we are trying to achieve. At the moment also we are looking to play good cricket and hoping that if we do that, everything will be fine,” Rathour said.

SKY’s match simulation

Suryakumar Yadav batted for almost an hour in the nets on Tuesday evening with Rathour giving throwdowns. The batting coach gave Surya a target – score 26 in an over. The first two deliveries went for sixes, followed by a single. The next couple of scoop shots were considered as boundaries, leaving Surya to score 5 off 1. That’s when Surya said, “Chauka gaya toh super over.”

Surya hasn’t found a spot in the final XI at the moment but as told by coach Rathour, whenever the situation arises, he will be there.

“Whoever is being given the opportunity, I think the belief of team management is that he should get a proper opportunity. We need to back everyone. Whoever is playing should get enough opportunity. And if there is a situation where we feel that Surya should be brought in, again he has been batting really well. So, if we feel that Surya should be brought in, we will definitely play him,” Rathour said.