India’s preparations for the next ODI World Cup will begin with a three-match series against Afghanistan, starting on Saturday in Dharamsala. While the two teams have met in multi-nation tournaments before,
this will be their first-ever bilateral ODI series.
Led by Shubman Gill, India will be looking for a productive start to their build-up towards the 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa as they begin shaping a balanced squad for the tournament. However, they will be without a couple of key players, with batting star Virat Kohli (hamstring) and allrounder Hardik Pandya (quadriceps strain) sidelined due to injuries.
Their absence, though, opens the door for others to stake a claim and remain in contention for a World Cup spot. One player under the spotlight will be Ishan Kishan, whose last ODI appearance came during the 2023 World Cup – coincidentally against Afghanistan.
Kishan will be eager to strengthen his case as India’s backup wicketkeeper-batter to KL Rahul. While the selectors appear to have placed their faith in him for now, former India allrounder Irfan Pathan believes Sanju Samson also deserves consideration, despite currently being third in the pecking order.
“KL Rahul is India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in ODIs. He has done well at numbers five and six. He is versatile,” Pathan said on JioHotstar. “As a backup, the selectors have brought in Ishan Kishan. Ishan can bat higher up the order and plays the short ball well square of the wicket. That is a smart selection. So, Rahul and Ishan are the two wicketkeeper-batters right now.”
“The third in line should be Sanju Samson. Whenever he has got a chance, he has delivered. We saw that in the T20 World Cup,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant appears to have slipped down the pecking order in limited-overs cricket. Once tipped to become an all-format mainstay for India, Pant has largely been confined to the Test side in recent time and was not selected for the Afghanistan ODI series.
It has been nearly two years since Pant last played an ODI, but Pathan believes he should not be written off just yet. He pointed to Kishan’s return to favour after strong performances in domestic cricket as an example for Pant to follow.
“Now, about Rishabh Pant, my suggestion to the selectors is not to completely ignore him,” Pathan said. “Yes, he has fallen behind in white-ball cricket. His form has not been great. But look at Ishan Kishan. He was out of the team too, but he used that as motivation. He played domestic cricket, performed well, and led Jharkhand to a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win as captain.”
“Rishabh should take inspiration from Ishan and keep working hard. He should not lose hope of making a comeback in white-ball cricket,” he added.
Despite his absence from the playing XI, Pant has remained on the selectors’ radar. He was part of India’s ODI squads, including for last year’s Champions Trophy, although he did not feature in a match. The 27-year-old was also selected for the ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year, but an injury sustained while batting in the nets ruled him out.
