"I don't think the team management will risk playing Shreyas Iyer" - Sanjay Bangar on whether he should replace Ishan Kishan for Asia Cup final

Sanjay Bangar doesn't see Shreyas Iyer replacing Ishan Kishan in India's playing XI for the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka.

The two sides will square off at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September 17. With KL Rahul having virtually sealed his spot in the playing XI, Shreyas and Kishan are vying for the one available position in the middle order.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Bangar was asked whether he is tempted to bring in Shreyas in place of Kishan considering the latter's strike-rotation issues and the way he was dismissed against Bangladesh, to which he responded:

"Not at all. I don't think the Indian team management will look at Shreyas Iyer, and understandably so, because we saw in the game against Bangladesh, they made five changes, then there was a chance that even Shreyas Iyer could have got a game."

The former Indian all-rounder reckons Rohit Sharma and Co. wouldn't want to be hasty while bringing back the Mumbai batter. He stated:

"The very fact that the team management wants to be patient and wants to give Shreyas Iyer that much time, I don't think the team management will risk playing Shreyas Iyer at least in this particular match."

Shreyas was part of India's playing XI for their group-stage games against Pakistan and Nepal. He was also supposed to play their first Super Four match against Babar Azam and Co. but was replaced by Rahul at the last moment due to back spasms and hasn't played a game since.

---

"Ishan Kishan has done fabulously well in the last 5-6 innings" - Sanjay Bangar on why he should play ahead of Shreyas Iyer

Ishan Kishan scored an 81-ball 82 in India's Group A game against Pakistan. [P/C: AP]

Sanjay Bangar believes Ishan Kishan should retain his place ahead of Shreyas Iyer as he has given a great account of himself in his last few knocks. He elaborated:

"Ishan Kishan has done fabulously well in the last five-six innings that he has played - three innings in the West Indies under trying situations, and a couple of useful innings (in the Asia Cup), one was a superb innings against Pakistan."

The former Indian batting coach added that the Jharkhand player has had a great Asia Cup, barring the indifferent shot against Bangladesh, and has done a decent job as a fielder as well. He said:

"After that, you saw how well he batted against Sri Lanka. So all in all, I feel that taking that dismissal apart, he has had a fabulous tournament and he has even been very useful in the field. He has been very athletic."

Kishan has aggregated 120 runs at an average of 40.00 and a strike rate of 76.43 in his three innings in the continental tournament. While he earned plaudits for his responsible knock against Pakistan, he has drawn brickbats for his inability to rotate strike against the spinners in the middle overs against both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.