Gautam Gambhir suggests his preferred opening pair for India in ODIs; KL Rahul, Gill and Dhawan miss out

Indian Cricket Team’s concern in ODIs is going to be more given the fact that the ODI World Cup year is set to arrive within the next few hours. One of the major concerns alongside others is the opening conundrum that has been a headache for the management for the last couple of months. It is being said that the Indian team has gone through a lot of changes in the top spot which is also leading to confusion in fixing a permanent opening pair ahead of the marquee tournament in November on Indian soil.

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Meanwhile, the former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has come up with some suggestions for the Indian team management regarding the concern of the opening pair. 2011 World Cup winner batter feels that the trio of KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Shikhar hasn’t been in good touch of late so they would not be a fitting option to start the innings in the 50-overs format of the game.

I'm amazed we're discussing this - Gautam Gambhir

"I'm amazed we're discussing this because someone's got a double-hundred in the previous innings. The discussion is over. It has to be Ishan Kishan. Someone who can get a double-hundred in those conditions against a reasonable attack - especially at home - should play," said Gambhir to Star Sports.

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“He got that 200 by the 35th over mark? You can’t look at anyone beyond Ishan Kishan. He has to be given a longer run. He can also keep wickets as well, so he can do two jobs for you. So, for me, that discussion shouldn’t be there. If someone else had got a double hundred, I think we would’ve gone gung-ho over that individual, but it’s not the case with Ishan Kishan. Because we still continue to talk about other players. For me, that debate is over,” he added later.

Later on, the 41-year-old also advocated with a few logics to place Ishan Kishan to start the innings with the skipper Rohit Sharma. Subsequently, he also provided a plan of action for the Indian batter in the upcoming white-ball assignments, especially the ODIs.

“It’s very difficult to look beyond Rohit and Ishan Kishan to open the batting, Virat at three, Surya at four, Shreyas at five, because he’s been incredible in the last one-and-a-half years,” Gambhir said of his ideal India XI. “Yes, he’s had issues against the short ball, but he’s been able to manage it. You can’t be the best against everything but if you’re able to manage it and get the numbers going for you, you can’t look beyond Shreyas at No. 5 and Hardik at 6.”