WTC final: Ishan can be a good No.6 if played, says childhood coach

The selection of Ishan Kishan, the Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter as the replacement for injured KL Rahul for the World Test Championship (WTC) final has come at the right time, according to his childhood coach. India will take on Australia in the marquee battle at The Oval in London soon after the IPL from June 7-11.

There was a fair amount of speculation after the injury of Rahul about his possible replacement, with veteran Wriddhiman Saha making a strong case for himself with some flawless work behind the stumps as well as with the bat for the Gujarat Titans. However, the Indian team management which earlier made it’s intentions clear about looking beyond Saha, now 38, has predictably opted for Kishan as the back-up keeper-batter to K.S. Bharat.

‘’The call-up for Ishan has come at the right moment. He has enough experience now to back up his abilities and was also the back-up keeper in the home Test series against Australia earlier this year,’’ remarked Uttam Majumder, the childhood coach of Kishan.

Speaking to National Herald, Majumder said from New Delhi: ‘’There is no substitute for match exposure and Ishan has certainly gained in leaps and bounds on that front. He has been keeping regularly for the Mumbai Indians for two seasons now in the pressure cooker situation of the IPL while he is extremely passionate about his red ball commitments in domestic cricket.’’

A former captain of the Under-19 Indian team and a street-smart cricketer, Kishan had been captaining the Jharkhand state team for a while. ‘’He [Ishan] has learnt the basics the hard way and always pays a premium on his red ball game. Barely a few days after scoring that double century in the ODI against Sri Lanka, he came back to score a century in Ranji. His keeping has technically become stronger and if given a chance, he can be an extremely handy number six in the Test line-up,’’ Majumder maintained.

Soon after earning a maiden call-up in the Test squad against Australia at home in January, Kishan told Shubman Gill during a video chat on bcci.tv: ‘’I enjoy playing red ball cricket. It’s a challenge in itself when the red ball is swinging and a batsman is being sledged at. As a batter, you have a lot of time and no pressure to score quick runs. Situations could be easy or difficult. I love playing according to situations.’’