"Between Rohit, Virat, and Shubhman Gill, that can be 2, 3, 4"- Ravi Shastri wants Ishan Kishan to open for India in Asia Cup

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri feels Team India should stick to Ishan Kishan as their first-choice wicketkeeper in the upcoming Asia Cup and also thinks the southpaw should open the innings.

Shastri suggested that instead of playing Ishan in the middle order, India can take a punt on Shubman Gill at No.4, with Rohit Sharma opening and Virat Kohli keeping his No.3 spot.

Speaking on Star Sports ahead of Asia Cup 2023, here's what Ravi Shastri had to say about Ishan Kishan's batting position:

"At the top of the order, nowhere else. And the others have to be flexible. Between Rohit, Virat, and Shubhman Gill, that can be 2, 3, 4. If you have persisted with Ishan Kishan for the last six to eight months, and he's going to keep wickets, he comes in, in any case. Ishan Kishan has been keeping for the last 15 months. Why go somewhere else?"

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Ravi Shastri on Shikhar Dhawan's absence in 2019 World Cup semifinal

India suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the 2019 World Cup semifinal and one of the main reasons for it was the top order failing to cope with New Zealand's new ball burst.

Ravi Shastri was the coach at that point and he claimed that had Shikhar Dhawan not been ruled out of the tournament with a thumb injury after two games, things could have been different for the Men in Blue. On this, he stated:

"I keep saying that people don’t give the credit that Shikhar Dhawan deserves. You mention the World Cup in 2019 where we lost that semifinal, when we had a brilliant World Cup, he was the missing man there. You know, that made such a big difference – a left-hander at the top of the order, as opposed to three right-handers with the ball swinging away, which allowed teams to get a grip of where to bowl and bowl consistently."

India's Asia Cup squad is likely to be announced on the 19th or 20th of August as per multiple reports.