India captain Rohit Sharma has explained the decision to promote Ravindra Jadeja up in the batting order against Sri Lanka. He said that the team management thought to use him higher up the order quite often. Jadeja, returning to the team after a long injury layoff, has batted at no.4 as India scored a massive total of 199-2 in the first T20I in Lucknow. The hosts eventually won by 62 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series as well.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sharma said: “Very happy with Jadeja’s return. We want more from him; that is why we asked him to bat higher. You will see that happening more and more in the games that he plays for India. I want him to bat up the order more. He is a very improved batter, so we will try and see if we can promote him going forward.”
While speaking about batting on big grounds, which India can expect in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia later this year, Rohit Sharma shared his views too.
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“We are very clear with what we want to achieve with him in white-ball cricket. I love playing on big grounds, because that is when you will be tested as a batter. Here you got to use a bit of batsmanship as well. It’s consistently happening. We are dropping easy catches. Our fielding coach has some work to do. Come Australia, we want to be a great fielding side,” Sharma said.
Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, was named the Player of the Match for his quickfire knock of 89 off 56 deliveries. And added a 111-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma and set the platform for India before Shreyas Iyer’s swashbuckling knock of 57 off 28 deliveries set up a massive target.
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“I know Ishan for a long time now. I know the mindset he has. I know the ability he has as well. It was just about getting the kind of game that he had today. It was so pleasing to watch from the other end. The way he constructed the innings was so good, that is usually a challenge for him,” Rohit Sharma concluded.
