Indian head coach Rahul Dravid recently said that players on the cusp of selection must not settle with a knock on the door, but they must bang the door down. While some are busy knocking on it, there are a few who seems to have banged the door down. At least Graeme Swann feels confident about one Indian star.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann has backed the 23-year-old Ishan Kishan to be India’s No.1 opener at the ICC T20 World Cup.
Doubts over Ishan Kishan grew following an average IPL season, but the player sprung back into form when he donned the Indian jersey in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
Ishan was the highest run-scorer (206) in the series against the Proteas. He scored a quick 26(11) against Ireland in the rain-affected 1st T20I.
However, despite such a good form, Ishan has the slimmest of chances to make it to the playing XI once KL and Rohit return.
However, the player should not settle for it, reckons Graeme Swann. Speaking on Sony Network, he said, “His (Ishan Kishan’s) target is to be the opener in the World Cup. There’s no player I know who wants to get there as a backup. His stats speak for themselves. It’s interesting that he’s had such a good time at the international level, didn’t have a good IPL by his standards.”
He added, “There will be no way now that he will be thinking ‘I’m not the backup’ he would be saying “I want to get in there as the No.1 choice.”