The upcoming BCCI selection committee meeting, led by Ajit Agarkar, is set to tackle numerous questions as they assemble to choose the Asia Cup team and a provisional squad for the ODI World Cup. While the provisional World Cup squad announcement is temporary, with the deadline being September 5, it could offer solutions to some of India’s selection challenges. A key issue has been the wicketkeeping slot, with Ishan Kishan and recovering KL Rahul as options, and Sanju Samson in the backup role.

Ahead of the selection meeting in New Delhi, former BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly delivered a direct message to head coach Rahul Dravid. For the wicketkeeping position, India has choices in the absence of Rishabh Pant, who has been sidelined since a car accident in December last year. The contenders are Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, and Sanju Samson.

Ishan Kishan has been a consistent part of the ODI setup since February 2022, participating in 15 matches and scoring 634 runs at an average of 48.76, including a double century and five fifties. His versatility adds value to the Indian batting lineup as he can adapt to different roles and batting positions. Despite this, he only kept wickets in six out of the 15 matches he played.

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In the absence of Pant, Rahul stepped up as the primary wicketkeeper-batsman, featuring in nine innings between December 2022 and March 2023, scoring 321 runs at an average of 45.83 with three fifties. However, a hamstring injury during the IPL raised concerns about his fitness for the Asia Cup.

Sourav Ganguly recently expressed his preference for Ishan Kishan as the wicketkeeping choice, primarily due to his explosive batting. He praised Kishan’s ability to influence the game for any team.

“Pant is the best wicketkeeper in the country, but you can see Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (depending on his fitness); these two will be right up in Rohit’s and Rahul’s minds. I like Ishan Kishan because he just opens up the game for any team. I am sure Dravid will keep him in his plans,” Sourav Ganguly stated.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri also endorsed Kishan for the Asia Cup role, emphasizing that Rahul, after an injury layoff, shouldn’t automatically secure a spot in the playing XI for such a significant tournament.

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With reports suggesting that Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are likely to engage in a practice match at the NCA, their performance will likely determine their fate for the Asia Cup and World Cup. The selectors’ decisions in the upcoming meeting will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the final squad composition for the upcoming tournaments.