Ishan Kishan will not be able to break into the top order of the Indian white-ball team, feels former all-rounder Irfan Pathan. In a discussion at Star Sports, the all-rounder said that Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma cannot be displaced going into the ODI World Cup, and so cannot be Virat Kohli. This essentially means that Kishan will have to find his place in the middle-order of the Indian team.
“He will not play at the top because you don’t want to touch Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill at the top. Virat Kohli will be at No. 3. So where do we have a place, at No. 4?” Irfan Pathan asked.
“The discussion will be only between No. 4 and No. 5. I don’t see Ishan Kishan batting below No. 4. The Indian team might do that but he bats up the order, you can get him to bat maximum at No. 4 but not below that,” the former player further added.
Stating that Shreyas Iyer should drop himself down to adjust Ishan, Pathan said that it was the only position to play the explosive left-hander.
“I feel he might get a place at No. 4, Shreyas Iyer might have to go slightly down,” Pathan said.
On 17 January, Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that Iyer had been ruled out of the 3-match series owing to back injury. While Madhya Pradesh’s Rajat Patidar ahas been drafted in his stead, it is possible that Ishan Kishan slots into the fourth position in the batting line-up.
