'This is not a competition, he can open too': R Ashwin settles Kishan vs Samson debate

BCCI picked up a 15 member squad for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup. Led by the current captain Rohit Sharma the onus will be on the Men in Blue to end their prolonged trophy drought at ICC events. The ICC ODI World Cup will commence from 5th October.

3 things you need to know

• Ishan Kishan played in the first two games in the Asia Cup
• Sanju Samson wasn't selected in the final ICC World Cup squad
• India will open their World Cup campaign against Australia

R Ashwin opines on Ishan Kishan vs Sanju Samson debate

Amidst KL Rahul's injury concerns, Sanju Samson was named as a backup wicketkeeper in the Asia Cup squad but the Rajasthan Royals skipper didn't make the cut for the final ICC World Cup squad. The selectors picked up Rahul and Ishan Kishan as the two wicketkeepers and Rahul is likely to be the preferred choice behind the wickets should he remain fit. Ravichandran Ashwin revealed the reason why Ishan Kishan should have an advantage.

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On his YouTube channel, Ashwin said,  "He is such a talented player. Let me tell you this about Ishan Kishan. There are certain things you cannot express. For his ability, if he feels that someone will criticize him if he gets out playing a bad shot, I mean you should never make him feel that way. You should let him play his way and he will win you games on his own.

"We should look at this from a current angle. If we look at this from Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. This is not a competition between Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan because Ishan Kishan fills many roles. He can open the batting too. When you pick a 15-Member squad you need a backup wicketkeeper. Do you agree with me?'

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"So we need 2 wicket-keepers Ishan Kishan is also a backup opener So he is a 2 in 1 player. And now he is your backup number 5 too. He is scoring runs there too."

India's World Cup squad 2023

Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav