Irfan Pathan shares his thoughts on Ishan Kishan vs KL Rahul debate ahead of Asia Cup 2023 super 4 clash against Pakistan

The much-awaited clash between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan is set to take place on September 10 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. It would be the 3rd match of the Super 4 clash in the Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan have already won their first match of the Super 4 against Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan recently talked about Indian team management’s headache of including Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul in the squad. Pathan believes that both cannot play together. He also said that we shouldn’t forget both batters’ contribution in the middle overs in ODI cricket.

“Both cannot have a place in the XI. Both can only play if someone gets injured in the top order, which we don’t want, or loses his form completely. I have only one thing to say about the ongoing debate.

Ishan Kishan scored runs against Pakistan at No. 5, which is not his position. God forbid if he gets out in the next match, will we say he is not in form? No, that’s not the case. We forget very quickly. We should never forget KL Rahul’s numbers for the last two years and Ishan Kishan has played one innings,” Pathan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

You shouldn’t have short-term memory: Irfan Pathan

Rahul is yet to make his comeback after he got injured during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. He got a little niggle ahead of India’s first match of the Asia Cup 2023 due to which Kishan got to play in place of him where he scored 82 runs against Pakistan. Pathan further added on the matter and said we shouldn’t have short-term memory.

“You shouldn’t have short-term memory. You should have long-term thinking and I feel the thinking with which the management is going is absolutely correct because if you keep going with short-term memory, you will have a lot of difficulty in making the team, stabilizing it, and giving confidence to the guys,”

“You just have to keep in mind that if KL Rahul comes and plays and doesn’t get his form, then you can say that he didn’t regain his form after injury and you can give Ishan Kishan the entire World Cup. However, as soon as KL Rahul comes, he will play,” he added.