India Should Drop Ishan Kishan for Prabhsimran Singh’s T20I Debut

With India already having wrapped up the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe 2-0, attention has turned to squad rotation for the dead-rubber finale in Harare. Former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra believes this is the ideal moment for Punjab Kings wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh to earn his maiden India cap, and has suggested who should make way for him.

Chopra picks Kishan over Abhishek to sit out

Chopra argued that Ishan Kishan, not Abhishek Sharma, should be the one to step aside. Abhishek has struggled at the top of the order in this series, managing scores of just 1 and 8, though he did pick up three wickets in the second T20I. Kishan, by contrast, has been in good form, following a 35 in the series opener with an 81 in the second game. Chopra reasoned that since a call-up for Prabhsimran may not come around again soon, the team owes him a proper opportunity, suggesting Kishan take the rest instead while Prabhsimran fills in as keeper and occasional bowling option.

Familiar role at number three awaits

Should the swap happen, Prabhsimran is likely to bat at number three, having occupied that slot seven times in the IPL. In those innings, he has scored 130 runs at an average of 18.57 and a strike rate of 139.78, numbers that suggest he could offer both stability and impact in the middle order.

With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi retaining his opening spot after an impressive start including a half-century, the call on Prabhsimran’s inclusion now rests with the team management ahead of the series finale.