Why Ishan Kishan’s Half-Century In 1st ODI Failed To Impress Aakash Chopra

The Indian cricket team made a number of experiments in their batting order in the first ODI against West Indies, but that did not yield the desired results. Chasing a modest total of 115 runs, India lost five wickets early in the innings. Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shardul Thakur were all promoted ahead of skipper, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra was not too impressed with the team’s approach. He believed that Ishan Kishan's half-century while opening the innings didn't provide any new insights since his talent and pedigree as an opening batter was already well-known.

Chopra said that Ishan Kishan was initially slated to bat at number 4 and this meant that the side wanted to use him as a backup wicketkeeper who could bat in the middle order. However, by promoting him to open the innings, the team did not achieve anything as Kishan has already made his presence felt at the top of the order by scoring a double century in ODIs.

"Ishan Kishan was slotted to bat at number 4, from which you could understand that this team is looking at him as the second wicketkeeper who will bat in the middle order - makes a lot of sense. However, you got him to open, and he scored a fifty. He is going to do that. He has scored a double hundred in ODIs," said Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.

"There was a big question in batting that whether Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan will play. Ishan Kishan opening and scoring a fifty has not told me anything. I already knew that Ishan Kishan is a good player,” he added.

Suryakumar Yadav, who was promoted up the order at number 3, managed only 19 runs, much to the disappointment of the Indian side. This match was seen as an opportunity for Yadav to prove his worth, but he fell short of expectations.

"He was batting decently, but the way he got out — he first hit a sweep which went for a four, another sweep and got beaten, another sweep and a leg-before appeal, and then another sweep and got out leg-before. These were four consecutive balls and not four separate events," he added.