Talking about having flexibility in the batting order, Kumble talked about injuries to openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan that had opened the doors for Ajinkya Rahane to take up the responsibly of playing at the top of the order.
India’s search for No. 4 batting slot has stopped for the time being with prolific domestic scorer Manish Pandey. India chief coach Anil Kumble felt that this is Pandey’s reward for “taking less time in the middle to settle down”.
This simply means that skipper MS Dhoni could continue to come up in the order at No. 5 and leave the finisher’s job for someone else for the time being. “We have a couple of options and Manish is someone who has done really well in recent past. He started off really well in Dharamshala and has shown a lot of promise and performance. This is certainly heartening for us. He has quite a bit of experience at domestic level unlike Hardik (Pandya), who is new at that level. He is certainly the No. 4, we are looking into,” said Kumble on Wednesday.
Talking about having flexibility in the batting order, Kumble talked about injuries to openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan that had opened the doors for Ajinkya Rahane to take up the responsibly of playing at the top of the order.
“I think Rahane certainly fits in at the top of the order, so that is one thing we will persist with in the remaining ODIs. If Shikhar or Rahul get fit in the coming days, even then that option is for the series against England next year and not for now,” Kumble said in reply to team’s opening options for next year’s Champions Trophy in England.
“In this One-day series, definitely Rahane is going to open the batting. Looking at the Champions Trophy, we will then decide who will open the batting.”
On not having Dhoni as finisher, Kumble made it clear that the veteran skipper has “enough experience and does not need time to switch batting positions”.
“It all depends on match situations. While chasing, you need more experience. As far as Dhoni is concerned, he has enough experience. He has shown over the years that he has enough capabilities as a batsman. You will probably see a different batting order depending on different situations,” Kumble hinted at experimenting with young Hardik Pandya for the finisher’s job.
Kiwis still upbeat
On the other hand, New Zealand seamer Trent Boult said that it may take some time before Kane Williamson could replicate the results like previous captain Brendon McCullum.
“Kane is a class player and has been ranked as a top batsman for a reason. In a way, he has had pretty tough time walking into the role of captaincy. It has been a learning experience for the whole team to be honest. The way Brendon led the team, I don’t think anyone could do it as well as he did it. He set his own tone with explosive batting stuff. Though, we’ve lot of quality players but they all need to stand up and put in good performance,” said the New Zealand spearhead Boult.
Boult praised Indian spinners the way they bowled in the Test series. “What the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have done, we are not used to in home conditions. But even without them, Indians bowled well in Dharamshala to start off. Especially their seamers set the tone in initial overs only,” added Boult.
He maintained that the mood in the camp, despite the Test series whitewash, was still upbeat despite failing to register a single victory so far. “Obviously, It’s been a tough learning experience in Test series. And even after a defeat in the first ODI, the mood in the camp is positive and guys are looking forward to putting a good show here,” Boult signed off.
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