During the post-match press conference following India versus Pakistan T20 World Cup match, captain Virat Kohli was asked by a reporter if Ishan Kishan could have played and opened the innings ahead of Rohit Sharma. The question left Virat Kohli puzzled as he gave the reporter a piece of his mind, saying, ‘if you want controversy, please let me know before so that I can answer accordingly’.
Michael Atherton: Ishan Kishan Outscored KL Rahul, Who Was Faster Out Of The Blocks In The Powerplay In The Warm-Up Game Against England
Having said that, going by the form Ishan Kishan is in, it might be a tough call for India to leave him out of the XI. Ishan Kishan has scored three consecutive half-centuries in his last three T20 matches and seems to be in good nick. The discussion between former England batsmen Michael Atherton and Rob Key was mostly regarding the topic of the possibility of someone like Ishan Kishan coming into the mix of things.
Rob Key asked Michael Atherton if India can do with a youngster like Ishan Kishan in their XI, to which Michael Atherton said he finds it interesting as India is under constant pressure and in a selection dilemma whether to include the dashing young wicket-keeper batsman in XI in place of experienced veteran batsmen.
“It was interesting to me. In India’s warm-up game against England, they rested Rohit. He obviously is a given. And they had Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul at the top of the order. I don’t know whether it was a shoot-off or not. Ishan outscored KL Rahul but what was interesting was that KL was faster out of the blocks in the Powerplay in that game. Ishan Kishan eventually got going and caught up,” Michael Atherton said.
Michael Atherton: Rohit Sharma Sometimes Takes A Few Balls To Get Going
Having said that, the former England captain feels the opening combination of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma is ‘the right thing’, even if the India vice-captain can be slow to start off at times and added that it would be foolish to think that India’s chances of winning the T20 World Cup have gone up in smokes following one loss.
“But if you think of how Rohit plays… he sometimes takes a few balls to get going. I think they are doing the good thing by going with KL and Rohit at the top of the order. I think that is the right thing. And you can’t write off India after one bad game,” Michael Atherton added.
In their second warm-up game, India thumped Australia by nine wickets with Rohit Sharma (60 retired off 40), KL Rahul (39 off 31), and Suryakumar Yadav (38), all getting some runs under their belts as India chased down Australia’s 152 for five in 17.5 overs.
Rohit Sharma blasted 60 off just 41 balls in the warm-up game against Australia to give India a blistering start. KL Rahul was impressive in the two warm-up games scoring a quickfire half-century against England followed by a solid 39 against Australia.
In Pakistan’s opening game against India, lanky paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi put India on the back foot from the start with the wickets of openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul off his first seven deliveries. He finished with 3-31 after dismissing India’s top scorer, skipper Virat Kohli for 57 in a total of 151-7 in 20 overs.