With every passing game, the selection conundrum of the Indian team management is getting tougher by a notch. Be it the spot of a top-order batter, a wicketkeeper, or a bowler; there is a problem of plenty for options are available in plenty but only eleven gets to play the game at a time. Something similar is happening currently in the Indian cricketing setup.
Veteran Wriddhiman Saha has been completely dropped from the Test squad as the selectors have made up their minds to invest in youngsters. With Rishabh Pant occupying the seat of the first-choice gloveman across the formats, KS Bharat is slowly becoming a familiar face in the dressing room to back him up in the red-ball cricket.
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When it comes to the white-ball format, India has Ishan Kishan as the replacement of Pant. The former is already being groomed as an opener in T20Is. Both have been teammates since the Under-19 world cup in 2015 and now when they are in the senior team, the sense of competition is there but the camaraderie persists as well. In a conversation with the Times of India, Ishan Kishan said he has never thought of taking Pant’s place and that’s has been the case with the latter as well.
Explaining the same, Ishan Kishan said, “Oh yes, he’s [Rishabh Pant] a very good friend. Whenever both of us are around, you’ll find us hanging out a lot with each other. We just keep watching movies whenever we find the time. We also talk a lot about cricket with each other about the game, what could’ve been done differently. I speak my mind with him, and he does the same. Never once has it crossed my mind that I want his place and I can assure you, that’s been the case with him too.”
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He further added, “And most importantly, when we are in the middle of our cricket routines, we don’t even think we’re competing with each other. When you have a good competition going with a talented player, there’s great fun to it too. You begin to realize those important things all by yourself-play good cricket and everything else will take care of itself. I love wicket-keeping so whenever an opportunity comes, I’ll try and give it my best.”
Ishan Kishan has represented India in 8 T20Is and 3 ODIs, scoring 184 and 88 runs respectively. Recently, he played as an opener in the 3-match T20I series against West Indies but seemed to be under pressure. He managed to register scores of 35, 2, and 34 in the series, averaging 23.67.
