Former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif expressed his preference for Ishan Kishan over KS Bharat in the playing eleven for the upcoming World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval. Kaif emphasized the need for a batter who can play attacking shots at number six, particularly against the old Dukes ball. India is scheduled to face Australia in the highly anticipated final from June 7-11, 2023. Due to injuries to Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, India needs to decide between Bharat and Kishan as their wicketkeeper for this crucial match. Although Bharat performed the wicketkeeping duties in India’s triumphant 2-1 Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory against Australia earlier this year, Kishan, a left-handed batter, has yet to make his Test debut.

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“In my opinion, I would play Ishan Kishan over KS Bharat because you want someone who can play attacking shots at number six, similar to the role Rishabh Pant used to play,” said Kaif, as quoted by Star Sports.

Bharat has previously played in England as part of the India A side in 2018 and was also included in the main squad during last year’s tour, where he scored an unbeaten 70 and fulfilled the wicketkeeping duties in the tour match against Leicestershire. On the other hand, Kishan has not yet played a competitive first-class cricket match in England.

Kaif also shared his thoughts on the rest of India’s batting line-up for the World Test Championship final. He suggested that Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma should open the innings, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara at number three due to his experience in that position. Virat Kohli would bat at number four, followed by Ajinkya Rahane, who is set to make his return to the team.

The selection dilemma for India lies in choosing between a pace all-rounder in Shardul Thakur or a spin all-rounder in Ravichandran Ashwin. Kaif mentioned that if the conditions at The Oval favour the spinners, he would opt for Ashwin.

“At number seven, I would play Jadeja, and at number eight, I would choose between Ashwin and Shardul, depending on the pitch conditions. If the pitch suits spin, Ashwin can effectively target left-handed batsmen like Warner, Travis Head, and Khawaja, creating a favourable match-up,” explained the former India batter. “For the fast bowlers, I would go with Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Umesh Yadav at number 11. This would be my preferred playing eleven for the final because it’s early June, and we would need three fast bowlers along with Jadeja and either Ashwin or Shardul, based on the weather forecast,” Kaif concluded.