Ishan Kishan has been in terrific form in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. He scored his first ODI double-century against Bangladesh in December 2022 and in the recently-concluded series against the West Indies, the wicketkeeper-batter notched up three consecutive half-centuries to bag Player of the Series award. These consistent performances from Ishan must have given the Indian team management a selection headache, as they are struggling to find a spot for the youngster in the playing XI.
Ravi Shastri, in a recent interview, said that India could open with Ishan and Rohit Sharma in the upcoming Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup, while Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli can come in to bat after them. Sunil Gavaskar, however, disagreed with this opinion, as the legendary batter felt that disturbing the opening combination of Rohit and Shubman might not be the right idea. Instead, the 74-year-old suggested that Virat might be moved down to No. 4 if one of the openers gets out early to protect India's talismanic batter from any damage that the new ball can cause.
"Any team has to be flexible, but I don't want to disturb the top order. I don't think Rohit Sharma should be looking to bat down the order. Yes, you can look at having Kohli at No. 4, particularly, if a wicket falls early because the new ball can do some early damage," Gavaskar said on India Today.
Ishan Kishan's impressive ODI numbers
The 25-year-old has played 17 ODIs thus far. He has scored 694 runs in 16 innings at a healthy average of 46.27 and an impressive strike rate of 107.43. Ishan has already registered six half-centuries and one double-century.
The Asia Cup and the subsequent three-match ODI series against Australia would give India the chance to zero in on their final batting order for the World Cup, which begins on October 5. It will be tough on Ishan if he has to sit out of the playing XI, but it is better to have an in-form player on the bench, rather than someone who is low on confidence.
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