'He adds a bit of swagger to the lineup' - Matthew Hayden wants India to play Ishan Kishan in WTC final

Former Australia international Matthew Hayden believes that India will miss stumper-batter Rishabh Pant in the upcoming World Test Championship final against Australia. Notably, the 25-year-old suffered a horrific accident last year and suffered multiple injuries. He is still recovering and his return date is not yet confirmed. 

Speaking about Pant’s absence at the moment, Hayden mentioned that it is one of the big losses for Indian cricket. The southpaw has a terrific record against Australia in the longest format of the game and is also one of the reasons behind India’s success on Australian soil in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Hayden, meanwhile, added that the team management should consider Ishan Kishan for the WTC final as the cricketer can play an aggressive brand of cricket just like Pant. He believes that Kishan can add a bit of swagger to the batting line up and his dynamic approach can help the team win its first ICC trophy in almost a decade.

“One of the big losses to Indian cricket right now is Rishabh Pant. If I was an Indian selector, I certainly go with the more dynamic wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan, he also adds that bit of swagger to the batting lineup and in the fielding unit as well,” Hayden was quoted as saying by The Telegraph online.

You are going to see a lot of Shubman Gill for the next 15 years: Hayden

Shubman Gill had a tremendous season with the bat for team India as well as in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. Lauding him for his achievements, Hayden mentioned that the youngster can dominate the cricketing world in the next 15 years.

“You will see a lot of Shubman Gill for the next 15 years. The foundations behind a good Test cricketer are pretty simple. And Shubman, and KL Rahul before him, fundamentally have fantastic games. So, he'll be a superstar of any cricket format for a very long time," he said.

“One of the biggest advantages that Shubman has and he showed this when he was touring Australia is he's very good off the backfoot as well. So square of wicket play is excellent. And that'll stand him in good stead even against the best Test sides in the world,” Hayden added.