Prior to the India vs Afghanistan ODI series, India’s assistant coach Morne Morkel had stated that one of Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, or Yashasvi Jaiswal would assume Virat Kohli’s role as the number three batter. In Dharamshala, Jaiswal wasn’t part of the starting team, and Kishan was picked over Rahul to bat one down.
Any chance of Yashasvi Jaiswal coming in?
One would assume that Kishan will continue there for all three games. But Morkel had hinted that the management would test different batters at different positions. Afghanistan are no pushovers. They showed that in Dharamshala. But with no Jasprit Bumrah, Kohli, Axar Patel, and Mohammed Siraj, now’s the time to create backups.
“We’ve got a couple of one-day games coming up, and we’ll give guys an opportunity in different slots just to give ourselves a better idea in terms of how we can go and structure teams and have different options,” Morkel had said.
Therefore, the question arises: will Kishan continue at three in Lucknow, or will Jaiswal get a go? Regular wisdom says no. Kishan played a good knock in Dharamshala, 34 off 22. And even if he hadn’t, changing his position after one game won’t be right for him or his replacement.
Unlike Kishan and Rahul, both of whom are flexible in terms of positions, Jaiswal’s a career-long opener. At best, he can play at number three. And if he comes in, someone will have to go out. Shreyas Iyer can’t go out; he’s the vice-captain. Rahul’s the best batter at the moment.
If you drop either Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar, the balance won’t be right. Therefore, Jaiswal will have to sit out for now. Perhaps in the last game of the 3-match series in Chennai, Jaiswal might play a game. But if he doesn’t, that’s no problem. He’s the backup opener, and Kishan is the backup middle-order batter; that should stay the case.
Predicted India Playing XI vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar
Bench: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Prince Yadav
Cricket
Exclusive: Prabhsimran Singh reveals insights behind Arshdeep Singh-Tilak Varma incident of IPL 2026
