Sanjay Manjrekar Felt India May Replace KL Rahul With Ishan Kishan For T20I Series Decider

Mar 20, 2021 at 7:09 PM

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Sanjay Manjrekar Felt India May Replace KL Rahul With Ishan Kishan For T20I Series Decider

Sanjay Manjrekar, former Indian batsman feels India may not replace out-of-form KL Rahul with Ishan Kishan for the fifth and final T20I against England, at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, even if the latter attain match fitness.

KL Rahul has managed two ducks, and two scores of 1 and 14, respectively, in the ongoing T20I series so far. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan smashed an attractive fifty on his debut in the second match of the series. He failed to deliver in the third T20I and had to sit out of the last game- the penultimate T20I due to a groin issue.

KL Rahul Image Source : GETTY IMAGES
KL Rahul Image Source: GETTY IMAGES

Sanjay Manjrekar Feels That Unfortunately Ishan Kishan May Not Play

Sanjay Manjrekar said that by playing KL Rahul in all the T20Is so far, despite his poor form, skipper Virat Kohli has proven that the management is ready to give him a long rope and they may not want to tinker with the winning combination for the series decider, which is currently locked at 2-2.

“It gets a bit tricky now considering that this is a game both teams desperately want to win. I have a feeling Ishan Kishan may not play, which is unfortunate, and that niggle may have also helped the India team out because they want to keep backing KL Rahul,” said Sanjay Manjrekar.

Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli added 94 runs in 9 overs for the 2nd wicket in the 2nd T20I (Reuters Photo)
Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli added 94 runs in 9 overs for the 2nd wicket in the 2nd T20I (Reuters Photo)

They [India] want to give KL Rahul a long rope. He gets another game and they (the management) tell him that because you’re out of form and you’re a class player, you’ll get another game. But he doesn’t get the license to consume more balls than necessary.

“It’s good that his 14 off 17 [balls] didn’t come to hurt India but it hurt England for sure because that’s exactly what Malan got; 14 of 17 [balls]. I would love to have Ishan Kishan back if the niggle is out of the way but let’s see how it goes,” Sanjay Manjrekar explained while speaking to ESPNCricinfo after the 4th T20I.

Batting great Sachin Tendulkar is convinced Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are good enough to be in the India squad when the nation hosts the Twenty20 World Cup later this year. 22-year-old Ishan Kishan made his debut in the 2nd T20I against England on Tuesday in Ahmedabad and smashed 56 runs off 32 balls which was studded with 5 fours and 4 sixes. Suryakumar Yadav didn’t get a chance to bat in his debut T20I but scored 57 in the 4th T20I.

Sanjay Manjrekar Doesn’t See India Making Any Changes And May Take Risk By Trying Out Debutant Rahul Tewatia

India is a side that bats deep and has also fielded five bowlers throughout but India fielded an extra pacer in the series decider going with 5 frontline bowlers Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, T Natarajan alongside Hardik Pandya.

When asked whether India will continue with the same combination, Manjrekar said: “I think they are okay for the moment. You might think they are a bit batting heavy because very often they have not used all their batting because Washington Sundar is a batsman worth the salt in T20 cricket. I don’t see India making any changes with regards to the number of bowlers,” said Sanjay Manjrekar.

Sanjay Manjrekar © AFP
Sanjay Manjrekar © AFP

“Maybe, they will have a look at Washington Sundar and the pitch being the way it is and if they bowl again in the second half of the game, they might think of somebody like a Tewatia. They won’t play Axar Patel as they have far too many left-handers in that England team. But trying out Tewatia is a risk I doubt they will take.”

The Indian team has drafted in pacer T Natarajan who is now fit and dropped out of form KL Rahul for the series decider. Virat Kohli said at the toss he will open alongside Rohit Sharma. England has won the toss and has opted to field. India will bat first.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, T Natarajan

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