Update Want Rahul to get accustomed to middle-order role in ODIs - Kohli

[Nairrk]

India captain Virat Kohli has confirmed that KL Rahul will bat in the middle-order and keep wickets in the ODI series against New Zealand starting in Hamilton on Wednesday, effectively confirming the ODI debuts of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.

The in-form Rahul's role as keeper-batsman has been a central theme to India's white-ball narrative over the last two series, more so in the context of how the management's decision affects the prodigious Rishabh Pant.

Rahul kept wickets and batted in the middle-order at Rajkot last month after Pant was concussed in an earlier game in Mumbai. The Karnataka man impressed with his glovework and displayed a new dimension to his batting, scoring a match-winning 52-ball 80 as a finisher. That coupled with Pant's erratic form meant India retained Rahul as the gloveman for the decider in Bengaluru even though Pant had recovered from his concussion.

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