table of contents
India vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI is over as the Men in Blue have clinched the series by winning two matches of the three-match ODI series, which is Shubman Gill’s first ODI series win as a captain. In the match, Gill played a brilliant inning of 154 runs and along with him Ishan Kishan also played an inning of 125 runs.
It’s been a year for Ishan Kishan, who has made a sensational comeback into the India national cricket team, first in the T20 squad and then playing a key role in India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign. Then came the call for the ODI series, where he performed brilliantly in the middle order, as he looked in good touch last night.
Is Ishan Kishan ready to play in ODI World Cup 2027?
After a brilliant innings of 125 runs in 79 balls, he hit 7 sixes and double fours. He accelerated his innings to score his next fifty off just 19 balls, reflecting his recent form, and watching him bat live from the stadium, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar praised the southpaw.
Speaking on StarSports Live Commentary, Gavaskar said that Ishan Kishan has already done a lot to book his ticket for the ODI World Cup 2027, which is scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. He can be the backup wicketkeeper for the team as KL Rahul does the glovework in ODIs.
I think he has already got his visa – Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar commented, “I think he has already got his visa.” “To keep Ishan Kishan out of the team, someone else will have to really play beyond his potential. He has a huge contribution in the T20 format and is batting very well.” His shortcomings have been completely ignored, highlighting Kishan’s technical changes over the last 18 months.
“Look at that shot of Graham [Swann] I was talking about the lofted extra-cover drive. He also has very good defense. If anything, he is quick to get on the backfoot and pull the ball for sixes,” Gavaskar said.
“He’s just a complete player now, and he’s become a complete player in the last year and a half. Earlier, you thought maybe he was a bit weak around the off stump. He didn’t have that high extra cover drive. Now that’s what he’s got, and it’s very difficult to keep him quiet.”
You ask him to bat at No. 3 – Graeme Swann on Ishan Kishan’s batting position
Former England spinner Graeme Swann also highlighted Ishan Kishan’s adaptability in ODI cricket, where the southpaw has played with a selfless approach and shown maturity during his 200+ run partnership with Shubman Gill.
“He is the quintessential team man. You ask him to bat at No. 3, he will give you valuable innings as he did in the first game. Today he is batting at No. 4 and he was aggressive,” Swann said. “As long as he has the India shirt on, he doesn’t care what number he bats at, and that’s good.”
“When he came on, his first half-century, even though it was not slow by any means, was about doing what the team needed. Shubman Gill was batting incredibly at the other end, so he more or less took a back seat. Then Shubman realized that Ishan Kishan had got his foot down and was scoring runs almost at will, so he just took a single.”
