IND vs SA: Ishan Kishan Is Way Ahead Of Ruturaj Gaikwad In The Race For The Third India Opener - Aakash Chopra
Published - 10 Jun 2022, 04:12 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:08 AM
Former India opener and current commentator Aakash Chopra believes that Ishan Kishan is far ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the contest for the Third India Opener.
With India’s first-choice T20I openers absent from the ongoing five-match series against South Africa at home, it’s a golden chance for Ishan and Ruturaj to expand their influence for the vacant spot of the third opening batsman, which will become obtainable if somehow Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul is unavailable.
Kishan smashed 76 off 48 balls in India’s first T20I against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, providing the perfect platform for Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant to weave their magic and help India to 211 for 4 batting first.
The series will help to broaden the set of players from which the Indian selection committee will complete the team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia later this year. They will most probably bring three openers, and with the first two slots already taken, the vacant third position is ripe for the picking.
‘Ishan Kishan wasn’t worried about his milestone’: Aakash
Aakash Chopra believes that Ishan is well ahead of the pack, and he demonstrated his potential during the first T20I, scoring 76 off 48 balls with 11 fours and three sixes.
“Because Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad aren’t the first-choice openers, the fight for third openers is between them,” Chopra stated on his YouTube channel on Friday.
“At the moment, Ishan is far ahead. He started slowly, but his purpose was correct. He was another bit unlucky, but he continued to attack continuously. He wasn’t concerned about his achievement. Ishan already had scored a lot of runs in the over he got out of.”
On Sunday, June 12, India and South Africa will play the second T20I of their five-match series. The game is set to take place at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium.
