KL Rahul Or Ishan Kishan: Who Should Play At 5 Against Pakistan?

image-lmagyvo5Ishan Kishan against Pakistan in Asia Cup (Twitter)

India has always been a nation with variety of different opinions and that probably is an essence of vibrant democracy. There are lot of things that bind a country together but very few can challenge cricket in that aspect. Almost everyone seems to have an expert opinion on cricket and with big events like Asia Cup and World Cup in vicinity, the cricketing carnival in the country has amplified significantly.

There are lot of selection debates about the composition of the Indian team and one of the most important of them all currently is - who should bat at 5 for India against Pakistan in their Super 4 encounter of Asia Cup on September 10. The two options are Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul! So, let's try to analyze who will be better fit for the all-important number 5 batting position based on different parameters.

KL Rahul Or Ishan Kishan - Stats Overview

KL Rahul is back in the Indian side after a long injury layoff and has played for India at number 5 in ODIs in last couple of years whenever he is available and fit. He has been pretty consistent at that position as well and has scored 742 runs in 18 innings with an average of 53 and strike rate touching almost 100. It includes 7 fifties and one century as well which makes Rahul's case for the number 5 position very strong as we approach a big game between India and Pakistan.

Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, is a man in form. He will be going into India-Pakistan Super Fours game with four consecutive ODI fifties to his name and it is hard to drop a player in such rich vein of form for any team. However, three of those four fifties have come while opening the innings but the latest one came against Pakistan when India was under the pump at the number 5 position. This makes his case strong too and there is a temptation of playing an in-form batter in place of a player who has been out of action for a more than couple of months now.

Why KL Rahul Can Be Preferred?

As mentioned above, Rahul has a brilliant record at number 5 and he has way more experience in the middle order than Ishan Kishan. This experience and his proven credentials at number 5, might go in his favour.

image-lmahz5jwKL Rahul during practice in Asia Cup (Twitter)

Also, Rahul has shown great ability to rotate strike in the middle overs which is an essential asset for a middle order batter. Once he is set, he has accelerated quite well in the death overs as well in ODI cricket which might give him a nod ahead of Ishan Kishan.

Why Ishan Kishan Can Be Preferred?

Ishan Kishan is naturally an opener and so is Rahul, but Ishan being a young player, has played very few matches in the middle order. Two things that go in his favour are his current form and he being a left-handed batter. India's top four are all right handers and a left-hander in the middle order can be handy. It provides a different dimension to the batting line-up and Ishan Kishan too has the ability to take down bowling attacks if he gets going.

Final Verdict

Ishan Kishan has been in red-hot form but India might still go with the experience of KL Rahul against Pakistan in Super Fours. If Rahul fails to do well in this Asia Cup, then we might see India going with Ishan Kishan but unfortunately, he will have to sit out against the upcoming Pakistan game, given the lack of experience he has in the middle order and Rahul's proven credentials at number 5.