The Indian cricket team has announced their 15-man squad for the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup and with that, the speculations around who will make the cut and who will miss the bus has ended. The squad was named on expected lines with no major surprises.
There were questions over why the team decided to not include a single offspinner besides snubbing legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal. However, BCCI chief of selectors Ajit Agarkar said they wanted a balance in the squad with captain Rohit Sharma adding someone was bound to left disappointed because only 15 players can be picked.
There was debate over Ishan Kishan being picked over Sanju Samson on social media but India star Ravichandran Ashwin thinks there’s no competition between the two at all.
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Ashwin reckons that with Ishan, the Indian team has a lot of options – he can open, play in the middle-order and is a wicketkeeper too.
India have first-choice options in all three departments and Ishan provides a quality back-up option.
“We should look this (Ishan vs Samson) from a correct angle. If we look at Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, there’s no competition because Ishan fills many roles. He can open the batting too. When you pick a 15-member squad, you need a backup wicketkeeper. Even when we pick Ranji Trophy squad, we pick two wicketkeepers. Ishan Kishan is a also a backup opener. So, he’s a 2-in-1 player. And now, he’s your backup no.5 too. He’s scored runs there too,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel while analysing the squad.
Ishan recently showed he can bat in the middle order too when he scored a fighting half-century against Pakistan after walking in to bat with his team in trouble.
“Now that Ishan Kishan has succeeded at number 5, it has suddenly given us two left-handers in the middle order. Everyone was going gaga about left-handers. They were saying Ishan Kishan couldn’t bat at number 5 but he has delivered now,” Ashwin said.
However, Ashwin has issued a warning too. “You should let him (Ishan) play his way and he will win you games on his own,” he said.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra also praised Ishan for milking the limited opportunities that have come his way.
“Ishan Kishan doesn’t get many opportunities, but when he does, there’s pressure on him. He has scored a double century, and even after that, we don’t see him getting many chances, which is a fact because he wasn’t included in the very next series after his double century. Where Ishan will bat in this team is a separate issue, dependent on various circumstances but he has understood the pulse of the ODI format,” Chopra said.
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