Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricketer Mohammad Kaif had his say on India’s batting line-up ahead of the upcoming series against England. The Men in Blue are set to tour England next month for five T20Is and three ODIs.
With Virat Kohli set to return for the same, and Ishan Kishan performing well in the ODIs against Afghanistan, there has been a debate about whether the left-hander could threaten Kohli’s position at number three. However, Mohammad Kaif blatantly ignored the opinion, stating no one can come close to Kohli in the Indian team till he plays. He reckoned that Kohli would hold on to his spot, and it would be impossible for Kishan or anyone to replace him in that position.
Kaif added that either Shreyas or Kishan could play at four, Axar Patel or Washington Sundar at five, KL Rahul at six and Hardik Pandya at seven, also keeping the 2027 World Cup in mind.
“You cannot shake Virat Kohli. He has drawn a very big line. I am talking about ODIs, at number three, it is not possible at this point for someone to cross that line and take his place. When a big tournament or a World Cup comes, the batting order will be the same. If Ishan plays also, he will not come at three, he will have to play lower. I think it will be Kohli at three, Shreyas or Ishan at four, Axar or Sundar at five, KL at six and Hardik at seven. I think this will be the team for the World Cup. No one can even become Kohli’s shadow at number three at this point, forget taking his place,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Kaif also stated that Rahul would hold onto his spot as the wicket-keeper batter in the Indian ODI side at number six. With Kishan in the mix as well, Kaif expressed that the left-hander would have to wait for his opportunity, with Rahul being fit and doing well.
“What KL Rahul has done at six, his place is fixed and he will only keep wickets. Right now it is a phase of experiments with Ishan coming in and that is fine. Maybe KL would have asked for a bit of break too ight now after the IPL and telling Ishan to keep. KL is a proven player and is fit as well now. He will only play. This question has been raised before as well. Someone else coming in will have to wait. There is always a trend of running a team. His form has been great, he is scoring runs and bringing that finishing touch. He will always be ahead and Ishan will have to wait. These guys will get an opportunity once Rohit and Kohli are gone,” he added.
Kohli, who was ruled out of the Afghanistan series due to a hamstring injury, will be back for the England series. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill likely to open, it remains to be seen where Ishan Kishan will fit in as far as the Indian ODI side is concerned.
Former India batter on Ishan Kishan
Mohammad Kaif believed that Ishan Kishan’s time would also come, when he will be a regular in the Indian ODI setup. He not only praised Kishan for his batting, but also deemed him as captaincy material, given the way he led SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) successfully in the initial part of IPL 2026 in the absence of Pat Cummins.
“Ishan Kishan can be a captaincy material as well. He is batting well. He has a sharp brain. When Cummins was not there in the IPL, he captained brilliantly and won games for his team. He backed his bowlers very well. His time will come too,” he said.
The left-hander played a sensational knock in the second ODI against Afghanistan. He smashed a stunning hundred, scoring 125 off just 79 balls with 14 boundaries and seven maximums at a strike rate of 158.22. India will expect him to keep up the performance in the final match of the series as well.
Edited by Rishab Vm