Prithvi Shaw to make ODI debut against NZ, Rahul to bat in middle: Kohli

With Rohit Sharma being ruled out of the New Zealand series, Team India captain Virat Kohli has confirmed a debut for Prithvi Shaw in the first ODI against New Zealand. Shaw came into the side as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan and will now walk out to open the innings in the first ODI. Mayank Agarwal has been named as Rohit’s replacement for the ODIs. “It is unfortunate that Rohit cannot be part of the ODI series, the impact he has had is there for everyone to see. We do not have any ODI tournaments to look up to, so it is ideal for him to get recovered. In ODI cricket, Prithvi is definitely going to start, KL will play in the middle-order. We want him to get accustomed to keep and play in the middle,” Kohli told reporters ahead of the first ODI.

India were brilliant in the T20I series where they clinched a historic 5-0 triumph over New Zealand, but the skipper wants his side to improve on their performances from the ODI series against Australia, where they were pushed hard.India were brilliant in the T20I series where they clinched a historic 5-0 triumph over New Zealand, but the skipper wants his side to improve on their performances from the ODI series against Australia, where they were pushed hard.

“In ODIs, we played a really hard-fought series against Australia, we lost the first match, but then came back to win the series 2-1. We will take a lot of confidence from that series, we will try to play positive cricket. We have to believe in our own plans, we know that New Zealand will not give up and we need to be vary of that,” Kohli said.

“The average of this team is 27, we should be fielding way better than we are. The fielding standard in the last series was not good from either side. In T20s, it can happen as you can get nervous. In ODIs we have had some bad fielding experiences, you do not expect it. I think it is about taking all three skills seriously,” he added.