After breaking records for India in T20Is, India’s two T20 World Cup heroes Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan will now aim to make it into the ODI XI. However, would India consider moving on from KL Rahul in the longer formats of white-ball cricket? This is the biggest debate going on ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
India’s T20 World Cup campaign saw a major change in the topography of Indian cricket. Ishan Kishan, the left-handed batting star for India, was almost a forgotten name until 2026. He was brought back in 2025 after a milestone season and was backed by the coaches and selectors.
He became a surprise find as he scored a century in the World Cup and then scored 319 runs in the T20 World Cup, finishing as India’s second-highest run-scorer and fourth overall. At the end of the T20 World Cup, he is at number 1. 2 in ICC T20I rankings for batsmen.
Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are contenders for KL Rahul’s place in the ODI XI.
After leading India to the ICC T20 World Cup title, Indian cricket experts believe that the best players of the series Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan deserve a chance in the Indian ODI XI. India are keeping KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the loop for this format.
However, Rishabh Pant has not played a single ODI since the Sri Lanka series in 2024, and KL Rahul has been seen as the regular keeper and was seen captaining the Indian team against South Africa in the absence of captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer.
He has adapted to the lower middle-order role and often finishes games for India. However, Abhishek Tripathi believes that India will now consider replacing him with players like Kishan or Sanju Samson.
However, PTI reporter Kushan Sarkar has said that although Ishan Kishan has the skills to perform well in ODIs, which he showed by scoring a double century against Bangladesh, India will need more of KL Rahul in the team.
Former Indian cricketer Dodda Ganesh laughed off speculations about Rahul’s removal.
Adding to this whole discussion, former Indian bowler and veteran of 100+ first-class games, Dodda Ganesh has made a controversial post on X, where he has laughed off the possibility of a swap.
KL Rahul has been in touch for India to some extent since the 2023 ICC World Cup; However, it cannot be ignored that his role in winning games for India has been limited to bilateral matches, as his performances in major ICC tournaments have declined.
However, going by Ganesh’s recent actions, it seems that Rahul is still the best wicket-keeping option for India in ODIs, and while Ishan Kishan can be replaced as a backup, he will not be able to make the XI as an immediate replacement. However, this has increased the pressure on KL Rahul to perform to retain his place for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
??? https://t.co/KuQIUrDkQk
— Dodda Ganesh दौड़ गानेश (@doddaganesha) 13 March 2026
Will Gautam Gambhir repeat the same mistake?
After the ICC Champions Trophy success, Gautam Gambhir had his first major successful Test series in England, where Shubman Gill was the major attraction. The Indian captain scored a flurry of runs, leading the Indian management to reconsider him for the shortest format of the game.
This did not work well, as Gill failed to score more than 291 runs in 15 innings without a single half-century and his average was very low. Ultimately he was also dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad. Hence, Gambhir might have learned the lesson that form in one format cannot be used to give him a chance in another format.
With Ishan Kishan performing brilliantly in the T20Is, the ODIs will be a different challenge for the batsman. Furthermore, he will not powerplay or have a place in the top order in the XI, and will have to play different roles in the lower order.
Therefore, before giving him such a big responsibility, it would be better to try him as a backup before seriously experimenting with the experienced KL Rahul.
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