Ishan Kishan (L) and Shubman Gill© AFP
India take on Pakistan in their first match of Asia Cup 2023 on September 2 and head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed on Tuesday that KL Rahul will miss the first two games of the competition due to injury. Rahul was widely being considered as one of the major contenders for the No. 4 slot and his absence can result in some major changes in the batting order. Former Indian cricket team opener Aakash Chopra took to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to discuss the various options that the team management can opt for against Pakistan including a couple of drastic decisions.
“KLR unavailable for the first two games. Opens up a host of discussion points…does Ishan open? If yes, where will Shubman bat? Or Rohit-Gill-Ishan bat 1-2-3 and then Kohli bats at 4? Or Rohit-Gill open…Kohli at 3 and Ishan at 5? Or Gill gets benched and Tilak/SKY bat at 5?,” Chopra posted.
KLR unavailable for the first two games. Opens up a host of discussion points…does Ishan open? If yes, where will Shubman bat? Or Rohit-Gill-Ishan bat 1-2-3 and then Kohli bats at 4? Or Rohit-Gill open…Kohli at 3 and Ishan at 5? Or Gill gets benched and Tilak/SKY bat at 5?…
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 29, 2023
With Rahul out of contention, Ishan Kishan is expected to play as the wicket-keeper and that complicates matters for the team management.
The youngster had a good outing as opener against West Indies and if he is selected as Rohit Sharma‘s partner at the top of the innings, that will mean Shubman Gill potentially missing out or playing the No. 3 role. Kohli can play at No. 4 with No. 5 being a toss-up between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma.
However, it is more likely that Kishan will play at No. 5 with Rohit and Gill opening the innings and Kohli keeping his No. 3 position. The No. 4 position can also go to the returning Shreyas Iyer.
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