Aakash Chopra has picked Ishan Kishan over Yashasvi Jaiswal to take the injured Virat Kohli’s number three spot in India’s playing 11 for the first ODI against Afghanistan. The former India opener called
Kishan ‘God’s favorite child’, saying he has always proven himself whenever he has gotten a surprise chance.
Six months ago, Kishan was out of a BCCI contract and nowhere close to the Indian team, with a stain of commitment concerns. However, after a successful Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he led Jharkhand to a maiden title, his career flipped, as the selectors called him up for the series in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup and retained him in the one-down spot for the marquee tournament.
He emerged as one of the most consistent performers there, and then backed it up with a solid showing in IPL 2026, leading a return to the ODI format for the first time since October 2023. Even this was facilitated by Rishabh Pant falling out of favor at just the right time.
“Again, [he’s the] God’s favorite child at this point in time,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel. “And when he gets the No. 3 spot, I think he’ll score runs. He’s in that kind of form. And whenever doors have opened, unknowingly, it’s Ishan Kishan who walks in. He’s standing there when the door is opened, walks into the team, scores runs, and establishes himself. He always does that.”
Kishan had an excellent ODI record when he was playing regularly for India, scoring 933 runs in 27 matches at an average of 42.40 and a strike-rate of 102.19, with a best score of 210 against Bangladesh. Choosing him would mean Yashasvi Jaiswal, who replaced Kohli in the squad, would have to warm the bench.
Aakash Chopra’s predicted India playing 11
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Prince Yadav
