"Virat Kohli sacrifices his No. 3 for a No. 4" - Sanjay Manjrekar wants Ishan Kishan to open in NZ ODIs

Sanjay Manjrekar wants Virat Kohli to drop to No. 4 to accommodate Ishan Kishan at the top of the Indian batting order in the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand.

The Men in Blue will lock horns with the Black Caps in three ODIs, with the first game to be played in Hyderabad on Wednesday, January 18. With KL Rahul unavailable for the series, Kishan will likely come into the playing XI as the wicketkeeper-batter.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Manjrekar was asked whether he sees a Shubman Gill-Ishan Kishan combo replacing the Gill-Rahul combo in the XI this time around, to which he replied:

"It's going to be still tricky. One guy is going to be really upset. I have got an idea to sort this mess out. Have Shubman Gill bat at No. 3, he seems like he can handle that position, and then Virat Kohli sacrifices his No. 3 for a No. 4."

The former Indian batter pointed out that Kohli had sacrificed his No. 3 position for the team's sake earlier as well and highlighted the advantage of having Kishan at the top of the order, explaining:

"He has done that before to Ambati Rayudu once, many years back against Sri Lanka. So that could be a way to sort it out. Ishan Kishan after his double hundred, left and right-handed combination at the top is not such a bad idea."

Kishan has only opened twice in the nine ODI innings he has played. He has batted at No. 3 on four occasions and thrice at No. 4.

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"You have to make use of Ishan Kishan's current form" - Sanjay Manjrekar

Ishan Kishan smashed a belligerent double century in the final ODI against Bangladesh. [P/C: BCCI]

Manjrekar feels Kishan's presence at the top of the order will also help Gill and Kohli's cause, elaborating:

"You have got to make use of Ishan Kishan's current form and the kind of explosion that he provides. Always helpful for guys like Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli coming in next if you got somebody coming in and getting 50 off 30 balls."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by opining that Shreyas Iyer should hold onto his place in the XI ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, saying:

"Then down the order, how you get the middle order right - I don't know. Suryakumar Yadav is back in the 50-overs fold. He is in the Test squad as well, so that is brilliant. Shreyas Iyer has to play before Suryakumar Yadav, that's going to be tricky."

Suryakumar is unlikely to figure in India's playing XI in the first ODI against the Kiwis. However, the swashbuckling batter could get a chance if the team management either opts to replace Gill with Kishan in the XI or continues to rest Hardik Pandya.