"Persist with him till the World Cup"- Gautam Gambhir wants India to play the "fearless" batter till World Cup

India hasn't crossed the line against South Africa across the format this year. They have played seven matches and lost all seven against the Proteas. Even in the ongoing series, the Men in Blue have lost both opening games with three to play. Now the big question is whether India are missing their senior players.

Notably, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given rest to several senior players after a two-month long IPL season. They have included some fresh faces in the team in order to broaden the pool of players, considering the upcoming T201 World Cup to be played in Australia later this year.

More games for the youngsters will give the selection committee more options to choose from. However, India didn't have the result they would have wanted, but Ishan Kishan on top is one positive they will look for in the coming matches.

The wicket-keeper batsman is the highest run-scorer of the series. He scored 76 off 48 balls, and 34 off 21 in the second match. But the big question is whether he can still play in the team when Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are back in the team.

Notably, the left-handed opener is not the team's first choice opener, and when both Rohit and Rahul are back, he will have to make way for them. So it will be interesting to see if he gets a chance to play in the middle order or if he is dropped from the team on their arrival.

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has shared his own view on this matter. Speaking on Star Sports, the former opener said that after the return of Rahul, Virat, and Rohit, will India persist with Ishan? He also pointed out that the left-hander has a fearless approach towards his batting and, whether he is scoring runs or not, he always brings that X-factor into the team.

Gambhir said, "But I would want to persist with him in Australian conditions where there will be bouncy wickets and he loves to pull off the backfoot and he hits the length ball very well. I think they should persist with him for this T20 World Cup."

The left-hander has done a really good job so far. He has scored 110 runs in two matches at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 159.42.