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Zaheer Khan, a former Indian pacer believes that bringing in Ishan Kishan, if the youngster happens to be fit for selection, in place of out of form KL Rahul will be a gamble that is worth taking on Saturday ahead of the T20I series decider against England on Saturday, as Team India has a key decision to make once again in the series-deciding 5th T20I at Ahmedabad.

Star batsman KL Rahul has struggled throughout the series with his scores of 1,0,0,14 in the four T20Is so far. He managed to get some runs in the previous T20I, which would have calmed the nerves of the Indian team management, but he wasn’t able to get the team off to a start that was expected.

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

Zaheer Khan Reckons Ishan Kishan Should Replace KL Rahul

Ishan Kishan, who made a fantastic debut in the 2nd T20I, is a player capable of giving the team a perfect start in a key clash. On Thursday, in the 4th penultimate T20I, Ishan Kishan had missed out due to an injury and Team India persisted with KL Rahul. But if the Mumbai Indians star is fit to play on Saturday, there are question marks on whether he will play instead of out of form KL Rahul.

At least, that’s what former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan believes that the team should do. Zaheer Khan said that he would be tempted to bring in Ishan Kishan for KL Rahul if the youngster is fit for the series-decider on Saturday. The former India pacer also suggested bringing in Axar Patel in the place of Washington Sundar for the 5th T20I.

Zaheer Khan Will Be Tempted To Make 2 Changes By Bringing In Axar Patel And Ishan Kishan

Axar Patel, the left-arm spinner who came into the India Test side as a replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, had a dream debut series against England as he scalped 27 wickets in the three matches he played.

“I will be honest, yes I will be tempted (to bring Ishan Kishan in instead of KL Rahul). And I will be tempted to make two changes, bring in left-arm spinner (Axar Patel) and maybe look to use him with the new ball and if Ishan Kishan is fit and available.”

“Maybe throw the guy (Kishan) under pressure match. The decider is going to be a big one, let’s see how he responds. Sometimes it helps when you don’t have that clutter of thoughts, you are keeping things simple, looking to be aggressive. It has paid off in the first game (2nd T20I), he has looked comfortable or you can get a glimpse of what he can bring to the table if he is put under tremendous pressure,” Zaheer Khan told Cricbuzz.

KL Rahul has been India’s most consistent T20I batsman over the last couple of years. He amassed 760 runs at an excellent average of 44.70 in the 20 matches he played in 2019 and 2020. But his injury-enforced absence over the last couple of months, combined with the emergence of Ishan Kishan as a dashing opening option has probably put undue pressure on him for a spot in the Indian team.

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.

In 3 T20Is, T Natarajan has 6 wickets averaging 13.83 and in a solitary ODI he has picked 2 scalps averaging 35 and in 1 Test he has 3 wickets averaging 39.66. T Natarajan has now played one Test, one ODI, and three T20I with a total of 11 wickets in his name-all in Australia.

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