While there was no confusion, as to who would be India’s opener for the T20 World Cup, now skipper Suryakumar Yadav has only put a seal of confirmation on it. The last IND vs NZ series was a big failure for Sanju Samson, while Ishan Kishan made the most of it, and in the clash vs USA on Feb 7, the southpaw could be India’s preferred choice.
India opener choice clear
In fact in the warm-up match vs South Africa, Ishan Kishan scored 53. “Definitely, look at the way he has played in the last few games. We noticed it after getting up from our seats because it was international cricket. But if you look at it closely, he was playing the same way in domestic cricket as well,” Surya said on Friday.
No more Ishan vs Sanju?
“Even in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he was batting the same way and continued with that approach. He played at No. 3 in the T20I series. In the warm-up match, he opened. I hope he continues playing that way, whichever position he bats at. I don’t think he will bat below No. 3. But whatever opportunity he gets, I hope he bats the same way,” he added.
Just for comparison sake, Sanju Samson could only score 46 runs in 5 innings in the NZ series, with a highest of 24. On the other hand, Kishan scored 215 runs at an average of 53. To go further, Sanju has only 134 runs to his name in the last 11 innings. But it would be interesting to see, if they would revert to Sanju, in case Ishan fails in a match or two.
