Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim believes that young Ishan Kishan would have to wait for his red-ball cricket debut as India is likely to go ahead with red-ball specialist KS Bharat for the World Test Championship final against Australia.
The Indian Wicket-keeper spot is up for debate as the Indian team will miss out on Rishabh Pant due to a prolonged injured. Ishan Kishan has replaced the injured KL Rahul in the team, but he is unlikely to make his debut for the Indian team in the much-awaited final at the Oval starting on June 7.
In an interview with TOI, Former Indian selector Saba Karim feels that the Indian team would test the young Ishan Kishan for the high-stakes final, as they go with KS Bharat in the final, as he holds the experience of playing against Australia in the BGT 2023.
“I don’t think at this stage they will want to play Ishan Kishan. I think they will persist with KS Bharat since he has kept wickets for India in the home series. The kind of security Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma want to give the players, I think they will continue with Bharat,” Saba Karim said.
Karim feels that Indian team management gives a long run to the players and reckons that Ishan Kishan would have been in contention for the playing 11 if he had played the home series against Australia.
“If they had played Ishan Kishan in the home series, I think he could have a chance. But since they haven’t done that, I don’t think they will take the chance in a crucial game like this and play him straight away.”
Kishan earned his maiden Test call-up for the home series against Australia earlier this year but could not make his debut. With Pant out, Bharat kept the wickets but failed to impress with both bat and wicketkeeping gloves, where he played four test matches as a wicketkeeper for India and scored 101 runs in the four matches.
This Will Be A Great Learning Experience For Ishan Kishan – Saba Karim
Saba Karim feels that World Test Championship final will be a good learning experience for the young Indian wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan as he can look after the seniors, and how they perform for the high-stakes match in tough England Conditions and added that the Mumbai Indians opener should try to establish himself in the red-ball Cricket as he was seen predominantly as the white-ball cricketer in the country
“I think this will be a great learning experience for him. He should absorb as much as he can from seeing his teammates and the opponents and also from the interactions. Test cricket is a different ball game and there’s so much to learn even if you’re not part of the playing XI”.
“His time will come and though he’s looked at mainly as a white-ball cricketer now, I think he’s played well in Ranji Trophy for some time now and will be a good choice for red-ball cricket in the future,” Saba Karim Concluded.
If given an opportunity KS Bharat will have a vital role to play in the lower down the order alongside Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja as the runs in the middle order will be crucial for the team’s success in the World Test Championship final, as the Indian team will look to end their long-awaited ICC trophy.