Ishan Kishan is pushing Rishabh Pant and others for a spot: Former Pakistan captain
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes Ishan Kishan is not competing with current Indian ODI wicketkeeper KL Rahul. He feels Rahul can still earn a place in the ODI team on the basis of his batting alone.
However, Butt reckons the pressure on the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan has increased with Ishan's performance as the youngster can open the batting and also keep wickets.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Salman Butt had to say about Ishan Kishan's knock and its consequences:
"I don't think Ishan Kishan will be competing with KL Rahul since the latter can also play as a pure batter. However, he is definitely pushing Pant and other wicketkeeping options for a spot. Even openers like Shikhar Dhawan might be pushed back in the pecking order after this double hundred from Ishan."
Salman Butt on Virat Kohli's contribution in Ishan Kishan's brilliant knock
Salman Butt also hailed Virat Kohli for scoring his 72nd international hundred after more than three years and breaking the century jinx in ODIs. Kohli also played a crucial role in helping Ishan reach his double hundred as he was seen communicating with the youngster and calming him down.
On this, Butt stated:
"Virat Kohli's presence at the other end was important as he provided a calming effect to Ishan as the latter reached closer to his double hundred. These performances don't happen every day and Ishan was simply outstanding. Even Kohli got a century to his name and although this came a bit late in the series, it will serve as a confidence booster to them going forward."
Although India lost the series 2-1, this massive 227-run win in Chattogram will give them some much-needed momentum going into the first Test, beginning on December 14.