Former Indian cricketers Dinesh Karthik and Murali Kartik opined that Ruturaj Gaikwad could open the batting with Rohit Sharma, leaving Ishan Kishan in the middle order in the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. The batters came into the side for the penultimate clash of the series after Shubman Gill and KL Rahul left the team for Test preparation.

“I don’t know, to be honest, because I personally feel that the way Ishan has gone of late, the best place for him is up top. You obviously can’t come in at No.3 because Virat is out there. … So, I think, for me, cricket sense says that keep Ishan where he should be and keep Ruturaj where you are asking him to be, rather than swapping it again and muddling the pond again. I just hope better sense prevails,” Murali Kartik said on Cricbuzz.

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“I personally feel that they are trying to give Ruturaj the best chance possible, the best opportunity possible, because he is a bona fide opener. … Who will you get more out of, Rutu or Ishan batting at No.5? I believe that the way Ishan is batting, he will definitely give a lot more batting at No.5. I am not too fussed about it personally; I quite understand where they are coming from,” he added.

India led 2-0 in the series after the ODIs in Auckland and Wellington, with the third ODI in Hamilton washed out, without a ball being bowled as well.

“It is misleading. New Zealand could have easily pulled off a heist in one of those games, especially the second. In the second one, all it felt like was that they needed only one wicket. In all fairness to both teams, I think it has been real hard work batting. There have been some small cameos that have been played, and we should respect that. Sometimes it is not about the tall scores; it is about what you can bring in smaller quantities,” Karthik said.