'He's applying a lot of pressure on the selectors' - Graeme Smith backs Ishan Kishan to seal T20 World Cup berth

Ishan Kishan has made a big point with his impressive performances in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. Going by his current form, the wicketkeeper-batter is most likeley to get picked in India’s 2022 ICC T20 World Cup. However, whether he will make the starting eleven is a big question for the fans and cricket pundits. Former South African captain Graeme Smith feels Kishan is doing everything he can to earn a place in the starting eleven for the mega tournament.

The 23-year-old batter scored over 400 runs in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2022 but came under scrutiny for his below-par strike rate of 120. Nevertheless, he has replied strongly with two explosive fifties in this series and earned the selection for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland. Notably, he is the leading run-scorer in this series with 191 runs at the strike rate of 147, comfortably 73 runs ahead of the second-highest run-scorer Heinrich Klassen.

Ishan Kishan is doing what he can do: Graeme Smith

While the national selectors rested star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the South Africa series , KL Rahul missed due to injury. These players are the first-choice names to occupy the top three slots in the line-up. Ishan would have found it difficult to play as an opener in the current series with their full strength, but now he will be giving a positive headache to the team management.

Apart from the consistency, the southpaw gives Team India the advantage of a left-handed batting option. However, will that be enough to replace one of the established players? Smith also doesn’t know what is the plan for Ishan in Indian T20 cricket.

“He’s doing what he can do. All you can do as a young player is perform, and he’s doing it. He’s putting his hand up, and he’s applying a lot of pressure on the selectors, the captains, the coaches,” Smith said on cricket.com.

“You have to be aware that in the background, there are very experienced and very successful cricketers who will come back into this Indian lineup. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli are around, I don’t what the plan in the T20 cricket with him is.” he added.