Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has backed Indian top-order batters Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to be a constant part of the Indian One-Day International set-up.
While Kishan has been selected for the forthcoming five-match ODI series against New Zealand, Sharma and Sooryavanshi aren’t part of the format, with Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli already part of the top-order.
“I would love to see him in the ODIs, to be honest, and I have said this before that if we are not picking guys like Ishan Kishan, Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in 50-over cricket, then somewhere down the line we are not doing justice to their talent,” Yuvraj told PTI.
Yuvraj further acknowledged that securing a place in India’s top order is no easy task, given the presence of established stars such as Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, he maintained that Abhishek’s performances deserve due recognition.
“I understand we have some great players and it is hard to make a spot for them. I think the way they are performing, hopefully, they should be in the squad soon. Whatever he has achieved is because of his hard work, and credit goes to him,” he said.
Meanwhile, India’s attention will turn to the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting November 4, once the ongoing T20I leg concludes in Hamilton on Sunday.
India’s updated ODI squad for the first three ODIs: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy (only for the first ODI), Auqib Nabi.
India’s ODI squad for the fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav
