“I can’t believe we’re talking about this when someone just got a 200 in the last inning”, Gautam Gambhir feels that India needs to open with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan in the ODI series against Sri Lanka

The debate over India’s opening combination has been put to rest, as Gautam Gambhir has endorsed Ishan Kishan to open with Rohit Sharma in the next ODI series.

Gambhir has said that there should be no more debate on the matter of whether or not Ishan should be India’s first-choice opener with skipper Rohit, given that Shikhar Dhawan is not in the team for the next ODI series against Sri Lanka.

In India’s previous ODI against Bangladesh, 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan hammered 210 runs off just 131 balls. The Indian management stuck with Rohit and Dhawan in the first two matches against Bangladesh, with KL Rahul batting in the middle.

Besides Ishan, Shubman Gill also showed his value in ODIs in 2022, with 638 runs in 12 games at a 70.88 batting average.

“I can’t believe we’re talking about this when someone just got a 200 in the last inning. This is the end of the talk. Ishan Kishan must be right. Anyone who can get a hundred against a reasonable attack in those conditions, especially at home, should play,” Gambhir said to ESPNcricinfo.

“What score did he get by the 35th over? Ishan Kishan is the only person you can look at. He needs more time on the field. He can also keep wickets, so he can help you in two ways. So, I don’t think that talk should be there.

If someone else had gotten a double hundred, I think we would have been all over that person, but Ishan Kishan is not that person. We still talk about other players because they are still in the game. I think that argument is over,” Gambhir added.

However, the current India opener believes that Ishan’s recent double century eliminates any other contenders for the position. Further, he said that Ishan should be given more time to prove himself and that we should avoid talking about any alternatives.

Even though Rohit and Rahul will only be available for the ODI series beginning on January 10, Ishan will be playing in both the Twenty20 Internationals and One-Day Internationals when India hosts Sri Lanka.