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Former India great Gautam Gambhir feels that form is always bigger than the stature of player in the team. India began their Asia Cup 2023 expedition as they met Pakistan in their first and tournament's third match on September 2, Saturday. The arch-rivals were squaring off in the 50-over format after a long gap of four years, and true to everyone's expectations, the match turned out to be a highly intense affair.
The ex-India player was a part of the commentary panel, along with ex-India player Irfan Pathan and sports presenter Jatin Sapru. Gambhir, who played an instrumental role in the 2011 World Cup final, said that the form of a player should always be considered more than his name and stature.
Gambhir said, "Naam bada ya form?" and opined that Ishan Kishan should be considered over KL Rahul. India's promising wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan has been in red-hot form lately, and in the match against Pakistan, the 25-year-old played a brilliant knock of 82 runs off 81 deliveries to get back India's derailed innings on track.
On the other hand, Rahul was suffering from questionable form before he got injured in the last season of the Indian Premier League. The Karnataka-born cricketer underwent surgery and rehabilitation and will be back in action with the ongoing marquee event.
Talking about Ishan Kishan, the wicketkeeper-batter and Hardik Pandya built a remarkable partnership of 100-plus runs to save India's innings. Kishan once again proved his mettle just when his side needed it the most and remained the second-highest run scorer on the Indian side. Riding on his and Pandya's innings, the Men in Blue put up a target of 267 for their rivals to chase in a rain-interrupted game.
