IND vs PAK: India To Prefer Ishan Kishan Over Sanju Samson Against Pakistan, Likely To Bat In The Middle-Order: Reports

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan is likely to bat in the middle-order against Pakistan as per reports in Indian Express. The southpaw along with KL Rahul were the two preferred keeping options chosen in India’s 17-man Asia Cup 2023 squad. The management also chose Sanju Samson as a traveling reserve.

With KL Rahul unavailable for the first two games, reports have merged that Kishan will be chosen over Samson and he will preferably bat in the middle-order. The southpaw scored an ODI double ton against Bangladesh in December last year. Very recently against West Indies, he scored three consecutive fifties opening the batting.

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Ishan Kishan To Bat In The Middle-Order Against Pakistan

However, with India’s top three sorted, Kishan is expected to be tried at number four or five as per reports. Shreyas Iyer has also returned to fit into the side and is a preferred number four choice especially after Suryakumar Yadav failed to shine batting at that number.

While Sanju Samson gives them another option, Rohit Sharma was very clear with his plans when he said in the pre-series press conference that team management doesn’t want to add more complications this close to the World Cup.

Kishan and Samson were considered replacement options for Iyer and Rahul who were unfit for a period of time. SKY was also a part of that experimentation process. However, with the Asia Cup starting the management is sure about who to try at which batting position.

India’s World Cup Squad To Be Announced On September 5

Meanwhile, there are reports that the selection committee will pick India’s ICC World Cup 2023 squad on September 5, a day after India’s game against Nepal. The deadline for participating teams to announce the World Cup squads is September 5 and there are indications that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will be announcing the squad in Kandy on Thursday (September 5).

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