‘I am slightly surprised’ – Aakash Chopra on Ishan Kishan playing ahead of Srikar Bharat in first West Indies Test

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra expressed that he was taken aback with Ishan Kishan’s inclusion in the first Test against West Indies over Srikar Bharat. Notably, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal earned their Test caps on Wednesday, July 12, in the first red-ball clash at the Windsor Park in Dominica.

Observing that Srikar Bharat kept well during the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, cricketer-turned-broadcaster Aakash was "slightly surprised" with Ishan’s inclusion in the setup for the first Test.

"He kept well in the WTC final as well. If you turn your back on him and move towards Ishan Kishan, when will (Srikar) Bharat's number come again, I don't know. If Ishan is making his debut, it means India have gone in a different direction with respect to Bharat. Why that has happened - I am slightly surprised because they were difficult pitches in India where no one was scoring runs. He also didn't make too many runs,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 

While Bharat has done fairly well behind the stumps, getting 13 dismissals in five outings thus far, he has failed to create an impact with the bat. Bharat has scored 129 runs in his last five Test appearances, with his best score being 44 runs in the Ahmedabad Test against Australia in March.

They want to find a replacement type of player for Rishabh Pant: Aakash Chopra

The former cricketer further highlighted that the think tank are pondering over the idea of having a like-for-like replacement for injured Rishabh Pant. Chopra stated that Kishan’s profile is closely suited to Pant’s exploits on the field which is why they fielded the former in the first Test.

"It reflects the Indian team's thinking slightly, that they want to do this, they want to find a replacement type of player for Rishabh Pant, who can bat like him at that position. So here comes Ishan Kishan,” he added.

Speaking about the match, team India concluded Day 1 with a score of 80 runs in response to West Indies’ first innings total of 150 runs.