The Asia Cup Super 4 stage kicks off on Sunday, September 10, with a massive clash between India and Pakistan. KL Rahul is expected to rejoin the squad, leaving fans wondering if he will displace the red-hot Ishan Kishan. Despite Kishan's form, Head Coach Rahul Dravid likely prefers Rahul to ensure he is fully fit and ready for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
Most former Indian pros are backing the young left-handed batter. Gautam Gambhir has gone as far as to say that selecting Rahul over Kishan in the starting XI would be a catastrophic error, insisting that Kishan is the right choice for the team right now.
For a long time, Rahul was the obvious choice for the keeper-batter role because of his stability in the middle order and his dependable glovework. But the tide has turned; Ishan has firmly established himself after finishing as the top scorer in the West Indies ODIs with three half-centuries. He also showed great composure with a key knock against Pakistan while his teammates were under significant pressure.
Gambhir pointed out that Ishan rarely gets a consistent run of games, yet he performs whenever the pressure is on. He noted that even after scoring a double-century, Ishan was surprisingly left out of the following series. Despite these hurdles, Gambhir believes Ishan has truly mastered the nuances of the ODI game.