“I’d rather have this kind of a headache than no headache (at all),” India captain Rohit Sharma was candid in his response to a question of problem of plenty in the Indian squad on eve of the match against Pakistan.
All the talk before the big Asia Cup encounter Pakistan revolved around the bowling combination India were going to play. When India chose batting depth, by picking Shardul Thakur and only two specialist seamers in Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, the direction for the future looked clear. Two seam-bowling all-rounders, one spinning all-rounder, one specialist spinner and then two specialist new-ball bowlers. This could still change in future according to surfaces on offer and opposition but batting depth is clearly an are management doesn’t want to compromise on.
There weren’t many debates on the batting order and composition but a little talking point popped up when KL Rahul was ruled out of first two games due to a groin niggle and India had no option but to play Ishan Kishan in the XI. But where? Was the question on everyone’s mind. Some suggested to accommodate him in the top-order, while most wanted him to bat in the middle-order and let the original top-four – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer – continue to play in their positions.
With KL Rahul expected to walk into the Playing XI at No.5 after regaining match fitness, Kishan was being looked at as the filler for first few games of the Asia Cup as he wasn’t the first-choice wicketkeeper. Rahul has enjoyed a lot of success in ODIs at No.5 and has been a crucial piece of the Playing XI balance puzzle. The puzzle, however, has become trickier for the Indian team management now after Kishan’s rescue act (81-ball 82 at No.5) against Pakistan where he gave a brilliant account of his big-match temperament.
Fighting fire with fire
Coming into bat at 48/3 in the tenth over, Kishan saw off a fiery spell by Pakistan seamers and then dominated the middle-overs phase with Hardik Pandya. At no point in the contest did he look overawed by the occasion and continued to get the basics right. Dispatch the loose deliveries, keep the scoreboard ticking and don’t get carried away. And he was doing all this in a position and situation he hasn’t been in often.
Most of his runs in the ODIs, including the sensational double hundred, has come as an opener but the 81-ball 82 will long be remembered as one of the finest knocks against Pakistan under pressure. The trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf was breathing fire when the left-hander came out to bat but he battled it out with a positive approach and then capitalised when Babar Azam deployed lot of spin in the middle-overs.
There were doubts about Kishan’s ability to rotate strike, as his natural game is to deal in boundaries at top of the order, but he ran extremely well with Pandya and followed the ideal middle-order template in ODIS. More than his application and temperament, it was him being a left-hander which never allowed the Pakistan spinners to find the ideal spots. The left-right combination clearly frustrated the spinners and the trio of Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Agha Salman didn’t taste any success in the 21 overs they bowled.
The left-hander temptation
Now with Rahul expected to regain match fitness, how does the team management address this situation? The temptation of an inform left-hander, who has scored four fifties in his last four ODI appearances, will be difficult to resist. Also difficult would be keeping your most consistent performer, read KL Rahul, in the middle-order on the bench. For now, Kishan has done what was in his control – score the difficult runs and give good account of big-match temperament.
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has backed Kishan to continue in the middle-order and feels in-form player, not big names, are going to win you a World Cup trophy.
“Had Kohli or Rohit made those four consecutive fifties, would you have said the same thing about KL Rahul? When you are preparing to win a World Cup, you don’t look at a name, you look at the form of a player that could win you the trophy,” Gambhir said after Mohammed Kaif put his weight behind Rahul during an interaction on Star Sports.
“Ishan has done everything possible to become the frontrunner. We are only making this argument because he hasn’t played as many international matches as Rahul,” added Gambhir.
Over to the team management now for addressing this situation as Kishan has ensured that it’s not his headache anymore.
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