"Ishan & Shubman will be opening" - Hardik Pandya kicks off injury-strewn India's World Cup tune-up

Ishan Kishan will replace Rohit Sharma and open the batting alongside Shubman Gill, confirmed stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya. India will take on Australia in the first of the three-match ODI series on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The upcoming assignment will be India’s only one in this format until July. With Rohit missing the first rubber due to family reasons, the 24-year-old Kishan will get another chance to push his case for the ODI World Cup later this year.

“Ishan and Shubman will be opening,” Hardik Pandya confirmed, thereby ascertaining keeper-bat KL Rahul’s place in the middle order.

The engine room, however, has gone cold in the absence of two mainstays. While Rishabh Pant is recuperating from a near-fatal car accident, Shreyas Iyer was ruled out in the eleventh hour with a back injury.

Hardik Pandya maintained that the thinktank is not yet scampering to find a replacement for the Mumbaikar.

“Obviously there is no timeline, but we have to hope for the best. We wish him a speedy recovery. Whatever happens, there is no update as such right now. But I’ve been in that situation where back could be a problem. And [if] it’s going to impact, I don’t think so. Obviously we’ll miss him, but we’ll have to start slowly and find solutions if he’s not around. If he’s around, then he’s more than welcome. But if he’s not, then there is a lot of time to think about how we can go forward,” Hardik, who will be leading in ODIs for the first time, remarked.

This also explains why the team management didn’t name a substitute for this series. While Sanju Samson’s name was doing the rounds, dynamic T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav is likely to man the No. 4 slot.

The prognosis of Jasprit Bumrah’s injury, though, is more concerning. Out of action since September last year, the star speedster recently underwent a back operation in New Zealand. Team India will once again be able to avail his services only directly at the showpiece event, if at all.

But Hardik Pandya dispelled all worries around the credibility of the bowling unit, adding that the current crop has evolved in the process.

“There’s no long-term plan, as such. And Jassi has not been around for quite sometime now. So I think the bowling group, which we have, has been doing a pretty decent job. We back them and they are all experienced now [with] the amount of games they’ve played. Obviously Jassi makes a massive difference, which we all know what he brings, but we are not much bothered. Because the guys who have taken roles from Jassi have been quite confident and they have been doing really well. So yeah, for us as a core group, it gives us good confidence to go ahead and not worry about what else we can do,” he asserted.

Considering that Wankhede's red soil will aid bounce, India are likely to go in with a three-pronged pace attack in Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav are touted to man the other department.

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“Taking someone’s place will ethically not go well with me” – Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya last played a Test match in August 2018

The hosts will be high on confidence after securing a 2-1 win in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The triumph also secured Rohit Sharma’s boys a place in a second successive World Test Championship (WTC) final.

However, with the contingent reeling under an injury cloud, the bid to end a trophy drought also looks uncertain. In conditions demanding a three-man pace battery, Bumrah’s injury has left India hamstrung. While there is a possibility of Hardik Pandya lending a helping hand in that regard, the 29-year-old counted himself out.

“To be very honest, no. I am ethically very strong in my life. And I have not done 10 percent also of the job to reach there, or I am not even part of one percent. So me coming there and taking someone’s place will ethically not go well with me…If I had to play Test cricket, I’ll go through the grind, I’ll earn my position and then come back. For that reason, I will not be available or playing the World Test Championship final or any Test match in the future, until I feel I have earned my spot,” he stated.

India will face the Aussies in the summit clash, which is scheduled to be held at The Oval in London starting June 7.