“We want to give him opportunities” - Shubman Gill wants to give more chances to a key Indian player before ICC ODI World Cup 2027

Indian ODI captain Shubman Gill, while speaking at the post-series presentation ceremony after the three-match ODI series loss to New Zealand, asserted that it was disappointing to end on the losing side after starting the series on a positive note.

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While he heaped praise on the Indian talismanic batter Virat Kohli and the pace bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana for their heroics in the third and final ODI, he also revealed the reason behind giving eight overs to the all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

"After the first match, coming here 1-1, the way we played is disappointing. There are areas we need to reflect on and improve. The way Virat is batting is always a plus. The way Harshit batted in this series-batting at No. 8 is not easy and it was impressive. The fast bowlers also bowled well throughout the series," Gill said at the presentation ceremony.

"Keeping the World Cup in mind, we want to give Nitish Kumar Reddy opportunities. We want to give him enough overs to see which combinations work for us and what kinds of deliveries suit him," he added.

Interestingly, these comments from the skipper emerged right after Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate stated that Reddy was not "doing a heck of a lot" with the limited game time he had received.

"With Nitish, we keep talking about developing him and getting him game time and then when you do get him game time, he often ends up not doing a heck of a lot in the games," ten Doeschate had told reporters after the second ODI.

"For someone who's making their way, particularly with the bat in the second ODI, it was that perfect chance where you're walking in that situation, and you've got a chance to spend 15 overs at the wicket. You really have to take those chances to push your case to be selected," he had added.

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