Rohit Sharma won’t mind early start in World Cup matches to negate dew factor

Bowling
under
the
light
makes
it
difficult
for
the
bowlers
to
grip
the
ball
in
the
evening
and
it
is
a
common
phenomenon
which
makes
batting
easier
for
the
chasing
team.

Dew
factor
gives
an
undue
advantage
to
second
innings

Ashwin
had
proposed
an
11.30
am
start
for
the
World
Cup
games
to
be
played
in
India
in
October-November.
Usually
in
India,
the
game
starts
at
1:30
pm.
However,
the
broadcasters
who
pay
big
money
to
get
the
media
rights
are
expected
to
have
the
final
say
on
the
subject.

“It
is
a
good
idea.
It
is
a
World
Cup
right?
You
don’t
want
to
compromise
too
much
on
the
toss
factor.
You
want
to
completely
take
that
away.
I
like
the
idea
of
an
early
start
but
don’t
know
if
it
is
possible.
The
broadcasters
will
decide
(laughs),”
said
Rohit
ahead
of
the
first
ODI
against
New
Zealand
here
on
Wednesday.

“Ideally
you
don’t
want
to
see
teams
getting
advantage
of
dew.
You
want
to
see
cricket
being
played
without
one
having
an
advantage
of
batting
under
lights
with
dew
around.”

Ishan
Kishan
will
bat
in
the
middle
order

The
captain
also
confirmed
that
Ishan
Kishan,
who
sat
out
of
the
series
against
Bangladesh
despite
scoring
a
double
ton
in
his
last
ODI
innings,
will
be
accommodated
in
the
middle
order.

“Kishan
will
be
batting
in
the
middle
order
and
I
am
glad
he
could
get
a
run
here
after
that
fine
knock
in
Bangladesh,”
he
said.

Mohammad
Siraj,
Mohammad
Shami
and
Umran
Malik
were
India’s
preferred
pace
trio
against
Sri
Lanka.
Add
leggie
Yuzvendra
Chahal
to
the
playing
eleven
and
the
tail
looks
a
lot
longer.

Rohit
said
Shardul
Thakur
has
been
brought
back
to
the
squad
to
address
that
issue
but
it
is
one
of
the
areas
to
work
for
the
team
ahead
of
the
World
Cup.
“I
don’t
want
to
compromise
on
anything
honestly,”
he
said
when
asked
about
playing
seven
batters
and
four
specialist
bowlers.

“You
want
to
play
your
best
eleven
at
the
end
of
the
day.
Number
eight
and
nine
is
going
to
be
a
challenge
for
us,
someone
who
can
bat
at
that
point.
That
is
why
we
got
Shardul
in,
he
can
give
us
that
edge
at
number
eight.

“That
is
one
aspect
where
we
can
be
challenged
if
we
lose
early
wickets
or
in
the
middle
order.
It
is
something
that
can
worry
you.
But
having
said
that
if
you
have
good
seven
batters
who
can
do
the
job
for
us
in
any
situation
is
then
you
can
look
at
playing
combinations
as
well.

“We
will
be
playing
(World
Cup)
all
over
India
in
different
conditions.
We
need
to
assess
everything.
Whether
we
can
play
with
three
spinners.
Luckily
we
have
got
spinners
who
can
bat
-Axar,
Washy
(Sundar),
Shahbaz
and
Jaddu
(Ravindra
Jadeja).

“Those
are
the
guys
that
can
give
us
the
depth
that
we
are
looking
for
but
not
to
forget
the
two
quality
wrist
spinners
also
that
we
have,”
he
said
referring
to
Chahal
and
Kuldeep
Yadav.

Rohit
added
that
New
Zealand
will
pose
a
big
challenge
for
his
team.
“It
is
a
great
opportunity
and
great
opposition.
We
can
challenge
ourselves
to
achieve
what
we
can
as
a
team.
They
are
coming
from
a
good
series
in
Pakistan.

“At
the
same
time,
it
is
important
not
to
look
too
much
into
the
opposition.
They
keep
changing
but
your
planning
and
execution
should
not
change.
That
has
been
conveyed
to
the
team
members.
The
last
series
was
a
perfect
example
and
we
played
fearless
cricket.”

(With
PTI
inputs)