With Ishan Kishan stepping up and producing a quality knock against Pakistan when batting in the middle order recently, it seemed that the wicketkeeper-batter has moved ahead of KL Rahul in the race for India’s No. 5 batter for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Rahul is set to join the India squad in Sri Lanka for the Super Four stage of their Asia Cup 2023 campaign after making a full recovery from a niggle recently.
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With Ishan performing well in ODIs with four half-centuries in a row – three of them as an opener – it has given the Indian team management a ‘happy headache’ as to who gets the preference for the wicketkeeper-batter’s slot.
“It is a good headache to have,” BCCI chief of selector Ajit Agarkar said during a media interaction on Tuesday. “Ishan played a lovely innings. He generally opens the innings. You would rather have that headache than to deal with than not.”
“Here, you can say that KL Rahul’s record in ODI cricket is fantastic. There will be a conversation but at least you will have two options to pick from on a given day. We are happy to have two options who are ready to fight for being in the XI,” he added.
India captain Rohit Sharma even feels that there’s a possibility that both Rahul and Ishan could feature in the eleven if need be.
“There will a possibility, why not? As long as everyone is available to play, everyone is fit to play, selection depends on the opposition, a player’s current form and those who have performed under pressure because how you get those runs is also important. Look at Ishan’s knock, for his confidence that was brilliant. Under pressure, batting at No. 5 for the first time and a left-hander which gives us another dimension. We consider all that factor in picking a playing XI,” said Rohit.
India will kickstart their ODI World Cup campaign on October 8 when they take on five-time champions Australia in Chennai.
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