"If you are thinking about him at No. 5, he will have to improve his game" - Gautam Gambhir on Ishan Kishan's place as a middle-order batter

Gautam Gambhir feels Ishan Kishan needs to improve his game against spinners if he has to play as a middle-order batter for India in the upcoming World Cup.

Kishan is one of the two wicketkeeper-batters, KL Rahul being the other, in India's provisional 15-member squad for the global event to be played at home. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill likely to open for the Men in Blue, the left-hander might need to bat in the middle order if he has to get a place in the playing XI.

While reviewing the recently concluded Asia Cup on Star Sports, Gambhir wasn't too convinced about Kishan's ability to bat in the middle order. He said:

"If you are thinking about him at No. 5, he will have to improve his game. When he opened in the final, a totally different Ishan Kishan was seen. When you go in the middle order and an off-spinner is bowling, I agree you can play freely if you are 200/3."

While highlighting Kishan's dismissal in the final Super Four game against Bangladesh, the former Indian opener pointed out that the Jharkhand player needs to get better at rotating the strike. He observed:

"However, if you are 50/3, can you rotate the strike? You still have time to improve that before the World Cup because the reverse lap we saw against Bangladesh showed clearly that you are not that comfortable against spin, especially off-spin."

Kishan scored five runs off 15 deliveries against Bangladesh. He tried to break the shackles by playing a reverse sweep against Mehidy Hasan Miraz and was caught plumb in front of the wickets.

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"That is the only debatable number for me" - Gautam Gambhir on Ishan Kishan's place at No. 5

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan might compete for a middle-order berth. [P/C: Getty]

Gautam Gambhir isn't sure whether Ishan Kishan can be preferred over Shreyas Iyer as the No. 5 batter if the latter is fit. He stated:

"You will get to play spin in the World Cup if you play at No. 5. So that is the only debatable number for me, that whether you will see Ishan Kishan playing at No. 5 if Shreyas Iyer is fit."

However, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that Kishan might be the only viable option at No. 5 if Shreyas isn't available. He elaborated:

"However, if Shreyas Iyer is not fit, you will have to back Ishan Kishan only unless you back Ravindra Jadeja (to bat up the order) and play Suryakumar Yadav at No. 7. I don't think that is going to happen. So if Ishan bats better at No. 5 against spin, you would have more or less covered your entire batting order and playing XI."

Kishan earned plaudits for his 81-ball 82 at No. 5 in India's group-stage game against Pakistan. However, India's last two Super Four games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh exposed his inability to rotate strike in the middle overs against the spinners and he would need to improve on that front to retain his place in the middle order.