"Ishan Kishan should play ahead of him" - Gautam Gambhir feels KL Rahul cannot walk into the Indian team

Mohit Khakhar

"Ishan Kishan should play ahead of him" - Gautam Gambhir feels KL Rahul cannot walk into the Indian team image

The emergence of Ishan Kishan has poised several selection headaches for the India management. The 25-year-old is almost a guarantee to make the 2023 World Cup squad.

Ishan Kishan impressed everyone with his heroics against Pakistan in India's opening encounter at The Asia Cup 2023. The southpaw hit an invaluable knock of 82 runs off 81 deliveries before falling to Haris Rauf. 

The way Kishan negotiated a pressure situation and counterattacked the Pakistani bowlers has imrpessed quite a few pundits. In fact, former India opener Gautam Gambhir wants Kishan over KL Rahul in India's playing XI for the World Cup.

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What did Gautam Gambhir say about KL Rahul's place in the Indian Team?

Gautam Gambhir stated that he prefers Ishan Kishan over KL Rahul. He added that name is not important, and run of form should be considered if we were to win the World Cup. Like always, Gambhir was brutally honest in voicing out his opinion. 

Gautam Gambhir said, "Ishan Kishan should play ahead of KL Rahul. Is name more important than the form to win the World Cup? You don't look at names, but players who can win you matches.

The former India cricketer compared a hypothetical situation putting Kohli or Rohit in place of Kishan, who has been scoring runs on the trot. Kishan has scored four half-centuries in his last four ODIs - 82, 77, 55, 52.

"If it was Kohli or Rohit who scored 4 50s in a row, would KL still replace them?", interrogated Gambhir.

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How many runs has Ishan Kishan scored in ODIs?

Since his debut in 2021, Ishan Kishan has represented India in 18 ODI matches. The Jharkhand-born cricketer has shown consistency off-late, and is proving his mettle on the biggest stage. Kishan has scored over 700 runs, with seven half-centuries and one century under his belt. 

Matches Innings Runs Average Strike Rate 50s 100s High Score
18 17 776 48.5 106.74 7 1 210

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Mohit Khakhar

Mohit Khakhar Photo

Mohit Khakhar is a content producer for The Sporting News India.