Former India opener Aakash Chopra heaped praises on Ishan Kishan who played a brilliant knock on Thursday which scripted a 62-run win for India.
Ishan Kishan who had an underwhelming series against West Indies turned things around with a knock of 56-ball 89. Against West Indies, he scored 71 runs in 3 matches with a strike rate of 85.54. But the India team management persisted with him for the Sri Lanka series and the wicketkeeper batter didn’t disappoint them.
Ishan Kishan scored 71 runs in the T20I series against West Indies with a strike rate of 85.54
Reviewing the match in his youtube channel, Aakash Chopra lauded the 23-year old for his ‘player of the match’ performance.
“My Player of the Match has to be Ishandaar Kishan. Kishan was on a mission because I was one of those people who were saying that he is a disruptive, destructive player but the strike rate is down currently.” Aakash Chopra said.
“He was roaming around a run-a-ball in the entire West Indies series and that’s not ideal. You want the left and right-handed combination, you know he has the ability but if you don’t do that job consistently at the international level, then questions will be asked,” he added.
Ahead of the first match, Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out as he complained of pain in his right wrist. Chopra pointed out that India doesn’t have a shortage of opening options in the shortest format as Rohit or Virat can also be slotted as an opener. So it was crucial for Ishan Kishan that he cashed in this opportunity.
“Ruturaj [Gaikwad] is sitting out, after that Prithvi Shaw is there and then they will say KL Rahul can also open. There are plenty of options, in fact, Virat Kohli and Rohit [Sharma] can also form a pair. So, he didn’t flounder but shone under pressure.” Aakash Chopra stated.
“What an amazing knock he played. He hit fours and sixes in his 89-run knock and demolished the opposing team. He got one life for sure, but the manner in which he continued to bat, the areas in which he kept playing his shots, the intent he showed – this is the Ishan Kishan we generally know.” he concluded.
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