T20 World Cup: High-time Ishan Kishan got a game, should open with Rohit Sharma, says Harbhajan Singh

Ishan Kishan has to open India’s batting with Rohit Sharma going forward in the T20 World Cup, veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh has said. Harbhajan said that KL Rahul can move to No.4 and this would make India’s top four a strong unit.

Ishan Kishan was not selected for India’s opening match of the T20 World Cup of the tournament against Pakistan, which they went on to lose by 10 wickets. The opening partnership of Rohit and Rahul lasted four balls when the former fell to a fiery Shaheen Afridi in the first over of the match. Rahul was also bowled by Afridi in his next over.

“I have been saying for a long time, it’s high time, Ishan Kishan needs to get a game. He should open with Rohit Sharma, Kohli comes in at No.3 and KL can bat at 4. This will be a very, very solid batting lineup till No.4,” said Harbhajan on India Today.

Harbhajan also said that he would play Hardik Pandya if he is available. Pandya had been taken for scans after the Indian innings and did not take the field after being struck on the shoulder by a delivery from Afridi. He said Suryakumar Yadav can play at No.5 and Rishabh Pant can go down to No.6 in that case. Harbhajan, however, said that Shardul Thakur has to play at No.8.

“At No.5, Rishabh Pant can come and at six, Hardik if he is available. If he is ok I would still playing because he is a match-winner for team India. If he is not fit then Suryakumar Yadav plays at No.5, Rishabh at six and (Ravindra) Jadeja at seven. At No.8, Shardul Thakur. He can bat, bowl and field, he has been performing really well. He just won a championship with CSK, riding high on confidence and we should look to utilise his confidence. Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and Shami will be the next three,” he said.

Harbhajan also said that the defeat to Pakistan won’t have too big an effect on the Indian team as it was only the opening match of the tournament. “I don’t think this will make too big a difference. Obviously, it would have been nice to get off to a better start. But it’s not the end of the road. They can always make a comeback, they are a very strong team. I am sure Virat and the rest will sit and take a look at what went wrong and they will take the right decisions and come back stronger. This is what they are known to do,” he said.

Earlier, India captain Virat Kohli laughed off a journalist’s question over whether it was right to not play Ishan Kishan in the post-match press conference. “That’s a very brave question,” he said when he was asked whether Kishan could have done better than Rohit.

“What do you think, sir? I played the team that I thought was the best. What is your opinion? “Will you drop Rohit Sharma from T20 international? Will you drop Rohit Sharma? Do you know what he did in the last game we played? Unbelievable (laughs). Sir, if you want controversy, please tell me before so I can answer accordingly,” said Kohli.