'No point giving Ruturaj Gaikwad one game' - Wasim Jaffer backs Ishan Kishan despite struggles in WI T20Is so far

India beat the West Indies by eight runs in the second T20I at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Friday, February 18 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. After excellent batting performances from Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Venkatesh Iyer, the bowlers held their nerves to help the Men In Blue register a famous win just when the game had appeared to be tilting in the favor of the visitors. While the Indian team did win the contest, the focus was on youngster Ishan Kishan who failed in the second game managing just two runs from 10 deliveries.

Despite an unimpressive performance in the second game, former Test opener Wasim Jaffer has come forward and backed Ishan by saying that the southpaw should be given another opportunity to prove himself rather than being replaced by Ruturaj Gaikwad who has been warming the bench for a long time. Giving further clarification on the same, the ex-Test specialist mentioned that it is better to have continuity by giving chances to the same players for the entire series.

Ishan Kishan should be given a longer rope: Wasim Jaffer

“We need to give Ishan Kishan another game and play him in the third T20I. Then we must think about giving Ruturaj (Gaikwad) a chance in the Sri Lanka series. He should be given a longer rope, maybe a series. No point giving Ruturaj one game. It makes sense to have continuity with players so they know that they are going to play the full series,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

Ishan Kishan had scored 35 in the first game. However, he looked very uncomfortable in Friday’s match as runs were hard to come by for him before he walked back to the dugout in the second over. On the penultimate delivery bowled by left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell, the Jharkhand batter looked to flick one towards the on-side only to get a leading edge as Kyle Mayers made no mistake while completing the catch at backward point.

Having already sealed the series, it remains to be seen whether the team management would be giving Kishan another chance or look to test the bench strength in the dead-rubber in the third T20I on Sunday.