Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth believes team management can’t drop Ishan Kishan after the left-hander has impressed in the T20I series against New Zealand. Kishan, who was dismissed cheaply in the opening T20I, scored a blistering knock of 76 runs off just 32 balls with the help of 11 fours and four sixes.
Thus, Kishan played an instrumental role in India’s seven-wicket win. The hosts were chasing a par score of 209 runs and Kishan added 122 runs off 48 balls with captain Suryakumar Yadav after India lost two early wickets. Furthermore, the southpaw scored a blistering knock of 28 runs off 13 balls in the third T20I against the Kiwis at Guwahati.
The left-hander was recently added to India’s squad after scoring 517 runs in 10 matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while leading Jharkhand.
On the other hand, Sanju Samson has struggled with his form, returning with scores of 10, 6, and 0 in the ongoing series, thus casting a doubt on his place for the T20 World Cup.
“You can’t drop Ishan Kishan now, no chance. Kishan is a more devastating player than Sanju Samson. I feel bad for Sanju. He seems desperate. He could have scored well in the last match and could’ve played well if he was a bit sensible. The problem with Samson is his consistency. He makes a hundred but doesn’t score much thereafter. His performance have been quite up and down in the last one and a half year. It has been a year and a half since his century against South Africa,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel.
“Samson has been unlucky sometimes but at the end of the day, you are facing competition. You can’t help it. Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma are a certainty. Obviously, Samson will miss out. Kishan is a keeper-batter too and he is in such dangerous form,” he added.
Moreover, Suryakumar Yadav has returned to form as he scored 57 runs off 26 balls in the third game. SKY also smashed an impressive knock of 82 runs in the second T20I.
“Most importantly, Suryakumar Yadav has returned to form. He made India win the last game and now he is back entirely. He is now back to old Surya. The momentum has come back to Surya, which is very important as a captain and batsman. He is gaining confidence. Also, the way Jasprit Bumrah bowled. Any bowler would’ve been bowled with that. He visualised that ball,” Srikkanth concluded.
The fourth T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
