"Once KL Rahul is fit, and if he is going to keep, he will replace" - Sreesanth on Ishan Kishan's place in India's ODI playing XI

Former pacer S Sreesanth feels KL Rahul will take wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan's place in India's ODI playing XI once he returns from injury.

Ishan has made the job of the management difficult after playing a superb knock under pressure against Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Saturday. He scored 82 off 81 balls to pull India from 66/4 and guide them to a respectable total.

Since then, there has been a buzz on whether Ishan should retain his place in the ODI even if Rahul returns. Throwing light on the same, Sreesanth in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda said:

"It is difficult to predict anything in Indian cricket. Anything can happen. I think that Shreyas Iyer also doesn't have a designated place in the batting order and will have to keep shuffling. Once KL Rahul is fit, and if he is going to keep, he will replace Ishan Kishan."

While Ishan has already presented his case, Rahul will return to action after a long injury layoff. He was last seen in action during IPL 2023, leading the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The right-handed batter suffered an injury during a game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and was ruled out of the tournament midway.

Sreesanth also showered praise on Hardik Pandya, who stood tall against all adversities and played an excellent knock. The ace all-rounder missed a well-deserved century by 13 runs and shared a 138-run partnership with Ishan Kishan to guide India to 266.

"I would say it was a captain's knock by Hardik Pandya," Sreesanth continued. "He built his innings brilliantly alongside Ishan Kishan. After Haris Rauf gave Ishan Kishan an aggressive send-off, Hardik hit him for three consecutive fours. It was like he was telling him that he is still the same Hardik Pandya and is only showing him respect because of the situation."

Hardik's return to form will be a big positive for India as they head to the ICC ODI World Cup scheduled to take place next month.

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"A lot of television sets were saved" - Sreesanth on India-Pakistan clash getting washed out

The much-hyped India-Pakistan clash was abandoned after the first innings due to a wet outfield. Sreesanth reckoned that the rain saved the Men in Green before adding that Rohit Sharma and company would beat them in the final.

"A lot of television sets were saved, especially in Pakistan. Rain saved Pakistan, as India were able to post a good score despite losing early wickets. Their prayers were answered. But it's okay, we will beat them in the final," he concluded.

India and Pakistan are likely to face each other once again in Super 4 before another potential meeting in the Asia Cup final.