Veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla picks Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul to play ahead of Shreyas Iyer
Opinions of former cricketers are flowing in since the announcement of India’s 15-member World Cup squad with some experts not happy with the selection of certain players the majority of the views on the squad are positive.
The only question that now remains with regards to the selection of the playing eleven is which are the two players between Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer who will play at number four and five in the first match against Australia.
No place for Iyer on Chawla’s WC Squad
Veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla has shared his views on the intensely debated topic. The leg spinner has backed Ishan and KL to play ahead of Iyer in the playing eleven “We are talking about both of them, why not Shreyas Iyer? Shreyas Iyer’s place should also be questioned. Ishan (Kishan) cannot remain in the reserves now because of the way he has batted in the top order.
“People had a question about how he would bat in the middle order and the way he batted in the middle order after coming into bat in a tough situation, he is going through good form and he solves the problem of the absence of a left-hander in the middle order, which we often talk about,” Piyush said on Star Sports.
“So, he is straightaway a walk-in for me. If we talk about KL Rahul, his track record is so good and he has done so well over the years,” he continued.
One thing is for sure Ishan being a specialist wicketkeeper has an advantage over Rahul who was deemed as the first-choice wicketkeeper before the start of the Asia Cup but the innings played by Kishan against Pakistan has certainly changed the dynamics in his favor. It will now be a toss-up between Rahul and Shreyas for the one slot available in the middle-order.
Specialist Wicketkeeper
Piyush Chawla also touched upon the same fact “You have asked who should be the wicketkeeper. When India will play in Chennai and Lucknow, the No. 1 wicketkeeper will be a specialist wicketkeeper and Ishan Kishan is a specialist wicketkeeper,” highlighted Piyush
