Sanjay Bangar Made A Shocking Statement Ahead Of IND vs PAK – KL Rahul’s latest injury, which has ruled him out from India’s first two matches of the Asia Cup 2023, has opened up a new conundrum for captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid.
Until a couple of weeks ago, KL Rahul was looking set to slot back in at number 5 in the Asia Cup after recovering from a thigh injury that he’d sustained in the IPL 2023. However, he picked up a “minor niggle” and hasn’t flown to Sri Lanka with the rest of the Asia Cup contingent.
Although India have also flown Sanju Samson as the 18th man and the backup keeper, Ishan Kishan seems to be the first-choice backup wicket-keeper. However, Kishan has had his success as an opener while KL Rahul’s absence has left the number 5 position in the middle-order vacant.
While Ishan Kishan has seemed the backup keeper and backup opener, will India move Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill one spot down – that in turn will also have to force both Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to move one slot down – to accommodate Ishan Kishan in the XI for the matches against Pakistan and Nepal? Or will India straightaway slot in Sanju Samson at number 5?
Sanjay Bangar not sure about Shubman Gill’s position in the side
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has made a shocking statement, saying that Shubman Gill could lose his place in the XI for the match against Pakistan as Ishan Kishan would come in as the opener and keeper.
Bangar pointed out that while Kishan averages 70 as an opener in 6 ODI innings, in the middle-order he averages only 30 in 10 innings. This would mean that if Kishan comes in the XI, he will have to be slotted in as an opener to make the best use of his skills and experience at the top.
This will open up the debate whether India push Gill/Rohit down one spot, or drop Shubman Gill from the side. Sanjay Bangar reckons he’d drop Gill from the XI and have Kishan as an opener, and also play Suryakumar Yadav at number 5, despite the fact that since the start of July 2022, Gill is the leading ODI run-scorer in the world, averaging 69 in this period.
Watch: Sanjay Bangar picks Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, suggests India drop Gill vs Pakistan
Responding to @Krishna187777, #PiyushChawla & #SanjayBangar share a batting line-up work-around in #KLRahul's absence with a choice between #IshanKishan & #SanjuSamson!
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