Ahmedabad: India white-ball captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday backed spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, saying he wants to “get them back together” in the forthcoming ODI series against West Indies. The 2019 World Cup match against England was the last time when the ‘Kulcha’ duo played together for India. In that league game, both were hammered with Chahal leaking 88 runs and Kuldeep conceding 72 runs. While Chahal got a few opportunities after India’s semi-final finish, Kuldeep missed out of action mainly due to a knee injury which also ruled him out of the second leg of IPL 2021. Rohit pointed out that the two wrist spinners were left out because India wanted different combinations like having an extra batter or seamer in the playing XI. He, however, now wants to get them back together. The ODI captain stressed that the management will handle Kuldeep carefully as he is returning after the injury. “Chahal and Kuldeep have been great performers for us in the past. They’ve created great impact,” said Rohit on the eve of first ODI in a virtual press conference. “They were left out because of the different combinations we wanted. But it’s certainly on my mind to get them back together. “We want to give Kuldeep time to settle in. He hasn’t played since a long time. It’s important to handle him carefully. He needs to play a lot of games to get his rhythm back.” Rohit further confirmed that in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, who is in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, “Ishan Kishan will open” with him in the first ODI on February 6. The selection committee had added Mayank Agarwal to the squad but the Karnataka batter is still in quarantine. “It’s tricky what’s happening with Covid-19, to predict how long it’ll take to recover. Our positive players (Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad) are in isolation. Everyone knows they could get an opportunity at any time. We’ve made it clear anyone could have to perform any role.” The ODI series against West Indies will be Rohit’s first assignment as captain in the 50-over format. He was supposed to lead India against South Africa, but a hamstring injury ruled him out and KL Rahul led the team which lost 0-3. Talking about his assessment of India’s performance in the recently-concluded series against South Africa, Rohit said, “There’s no need to panic just because we lost one series. The South Africa series provided great learnings. “There’s not a lot we need to change. We just need to adapt to different situations. We’ve played good ODI cricket for more than a few years. “Our ODI win percentage has been 70-plus, if I’m not wrong. If there’s scope of change, we’ve to do it. We don’t need to suddenly copy what other teams are doing… their approach and set-up is different. I’m open to having a different approach.” Rohit further said that he will take the team forward from where Virat Kohli left. “I just have to take it from where he (Kohli) left. We want to continue the same template. Need to adapt according to situations. There’s nothing that I need to change drastically. When asked about the possibility of him getting Test captaincy, Rohit simply said, “There’s time for that”. “My focus is on limited overs cricket. Workload management is important. We could lose a few series because we need to keep changing players, but we’re ready for that,” he signed off. UNI PN
