The competition for places in the Indian team is as fierce as ever. Players like Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Umran Malik, etc., only get opportunities to play when some of the senior members of the team are either injured or rested. But, with the ODI World Cup only a year away, Australia great Brett Lee has asked for young opening batter Ishan Kishan to cement his spot in the team, and be a ‘sure-shot opener’ at the World Cup next year.
Ishan famously scored the fastest double hundred in the third ODI against Bangladesh, showing his true potential with the bat. While there’s no denying the talent that Ishan has, Brett Lee is hoping the southpaw can stay fit and remain consistent in the coming run of matches.
“With this deadly double, Ishan has staked a strong claim to open for India in the ODI World Cup at home in 2023. Will this happen? I don’t know. Should it happen? Hell yeah it should. The guy just scored the fastest 200 in ODI history. But if he can show consistency, stay fit, and be around the next few months, he should be a sure-shot opener for India at the World Cup,” Lee said on his YouTube channel.
“Back Ishan to make it in the World Cup squad with an eye on the future and clearly, he would be on a high after that knock as he should be. However, a word of caution. Too much praise had led to cobwebs in the head. So my advice to Ishan Kishan would be… forget about the milestone, forget about the double hundred as soon as you can. There are bigger milestones to achieve, higher peaks to scale. Ishan Kishan has to forget about the euphoria of his double hundred. Just focus on the process, stay fit and keep smashing big runs,” Lee added.
It wasn’t just Ishan’s batting en route the double ton he scored against Bangladesh, but also Virat Kohli’s reaction to his teammate’s achievement that impressed Lee.
“I am a little late in reacting to this, but as they say… better late than never. What we saw just a few days ago from Ishan Kishan was truly amazing. Bangladesh had no answer. The fastest double-hundred in ODI history, that’s right. 210 runs off just 132 balls… 24 fours and 10 massive sixes. A ferocious knock with shots all around the dial. Unbelievable batting, he could have easily got a triple hundred as well. It helped that he had the master Virat Kohli at the other end. What I loved about the innings was not just Ishan Kishan’s shot-making but Kohli’s reaction when Ishan ran the 200th run. What a great spirit and camaraderie between the two,” mentioned Lee.
