Ishan Kishan’s explosive ‘warm-up’ puts Sanju’s opening spot in T20 World Cup in doubt

Practice matches never tell the full story, but they drop hints, like one that could be deduced from India's T20 World Cup warm-up against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Abhishek Sharma was joined by Ishan Kishan in the opening department, replacing Sanju Samson. The Abhishek-Ishan pairing was surprising, considering Head Coach Gautam Gambhir prefers a left-right combination, but it was not a strange one because of the latter's form.

Kishan did not disappoint, smashing 53 off 20 before making way. He clubbed seven sixes, targeting the leg side in his peculiar style. The two left handers combined to make 80 off 5.3 overs. Sanju did not feature in India's innings, despite being named on the bench. India posted 240/5 in 20 overs. 

Since his return to the India set-up after a three-year absence, Kishan has been solid, making 76 and a powerful 103 in the New Zealand series. Clearly, the 27-year-old has shown that he can do the same as an opener.

With Sanju Samson struggling for form, with just 46 runs from five innings against the Kiwis, it remains to be seen if the management will roll with the Abhishek-Ishan duo when they begin the World Cup campaign against the USA on February 7.

In the absence of Shubman Gill, there were no other potential opening rivals for Sanju in the World Cup squad until Ishan came along with a point to prove. If that happens, Sanju might be forced to sit out because Tilak Varma too has returned and skipper Suryakumar Yadav cannot bat any deeper. 

Kerala star Sanju was part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2024, but he did not play a match as Rishabh Pant was the first-choice keeper under Rohit Sharma's leadership.