Irfan Pathan calls for Prithvi Shaw to Replace Ishan Kishan in T20Is


image-ldo3hewfPrithvi Shaw | Source: Twitter

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan wants the Indian cricket team to give Prithvi Shaw an extended run as an opener in T20I cricket, instead of Ishan Kishan.

Shaw was part of India's squad for the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand. However, he couldn't get a game as the team persisted with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill.

Kishan looked in a horrendous form as he once again failed to make an impact in the shortest format, managing just 24 runs at an ordinary strike rate of 60.00 in three outings.

The topic of Shaw vs Kishan came up during a "Match Point" segment on Star Sports, where Pathan was posed the question of whether Shaw ought to have been selected instead of Kishan, to which he answered:

"Going forward, I definitely believe so. Even in the last game when the series decider was there, a lot of people were asking for Prithvi Shaw to be played. That's when I said that if you are playing Prithvi Shaw, you need to give him a long run,"

While advocating for Shaw to be given a full series, the former Indian all-rounder also emphasised that the team would have to find room to accommodate a wicketkeeper, stating:

"What is the long run? Give him a full series. You can't give him just one match, especially a series decider. The only thing they will have to keep in mind is that Ishan Kishan was playing not only as an opening batter, he was playing as a wicketkeeper-batter as well."

If India opts to exclude Kishan, they could have one of Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, or Rishabh Pant (when fit) in the middle order. However, during the series against New Zealand, Jitesh Sharma was the backup wicketkeeper-batter as these options were unavailable, but he's unlikely to be in the full-strength Indian side.


Also Read: Dinesh Karthik backs Rahul Tripathi as Virat Kohli's replacement in T20Is