On the eve of the first ODI between India and Afghanistan in Dharamsala, Ishan Kishan’s performance of wicket-keeping drills in place of KL Rahul garnered immediate attention.
Rahul has been India’s top wicket-keeper batter in limited overs cricket for a lot of years, but based on what happened during the one training session prior to the match on Saturday, he may be relieved of his responsibilities behind the wickets now that Kishan is back in the ODI lineup.
Rahul was observed making high catches on the outfield of the picturesque stadium while Kishan continued with his wicket-keeping drills. Due to Virat Kohli’s injury-related absence from the series, India can test players at number three.
Even though Rahul has been comfortable in the middle order—more especially, number five—for the past four years, he could see a shift in his role with the bat as well.
While talking to the media, India bowling coach Morne Morkel stated that Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kishan, and Rahul might all be tested at number three during the Afghanistan series.
“In terms of that number three slot, that’s something that in this series we’ll play around with. Even if it’s Ishan or KL or Yashasvi, it’s a nice opportunity now. We’ve got a couple of one-day games coming up and we’ll give guys opportunity in different slots. Just to give ourselves a better idea in terms of how we can go and structure the team and have different options,” PTI quoted the former South Africa pacer as saying.
On Saturday, Prince Yadav or Gurnoor Brar might make their debut for India. Before going to Dharamsala, India received training in Chandigarh. Gurnoor, an experienced net bowler for India, and Prince both have impressed Morkel, a fellow pacer.
“My first impressions, it is sort of, almost like they’ve been part of the squad for five years. I saw no nervousness in their face. Although, I can imagine coming into the squad, they would be pretty nervous. But I think the way they’ve gone about their training, the energy they’ve trained with, was very, very nice and good to see.
“In terms of their skills, I can also see that they’ve done a lot of work on that. They’re on the money, accurate. And that makes my life a little bit easier. Obviously, from here on, we’ll develop their game and sort of have conversations of how we can play that middle phase and work our plays in the death,” Morkel said.
“How we can do that better. But definitely, on first impressions, very happy with what we saw as a group,” he added.
Morkel expressed optimism that Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, would give the two a chance to play in the Afghanistan series.
“I’m pretty sure Gautam will give those guys an opportunity and see how they go in the Indian shirt. It’s different playing for international cricket with an Indian badge. We’re excited to have them.”
After recovering from a hamstring injury, Rohit Sharma also participated in the training session. Morkel stated that having Rohit’s experience on the team was beneficial, even though the team will miss Kohli.
“He has passed all his fitness tests. He’s cleared and ready to go. Even if there is a slight niggle, but I can assure you there’s nothing wrong with Rohit. He’s moving well and training well. So, excited to see,” Morkel added.
