Impressed with Ishan Kishan’s performance in the recently held IPL, former India chief selector MSK Prasad has said that the Mumbai Indians (MI) star is now a hot contender for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot in the national team.

Kishan played a key role in MI’s triumphant IPL 2020 campaign. He aggregated 516 runs from 13 innings at a brilliant strike-rate of 145.76 in the tournament.

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“It’s really fantastic to see this pocket dynamite in action. He had a fantastic IPL. Batting at No. 4 and later opening the innings, shows his adaptability and temperament. His ability to switch gears as per the team’s requirements will definitely place him as a hot contender for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot for Team India in both T20s & ODIs in times to come,” Prasad was quoted as saying by TOI.

“If he can keep wickets well and bat the same way he did in the IPL, he will be a welcome addition to the national squad,” he added.

Recently, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar opined that Ishan Kishan will now compete with Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper-batsman spot in India’s limited-overs team.

"His (Pant's) absence from India’s white ball squads is a massive setback; just a few months back, he was a “star”.

"Meanwhile, his once U19 captain Kishan has taken the staircase up to the spotlight. He has slowly developed his T20 game, as is apparent in the superb season he is having for Mumbai Indians. There is a bit of Pant in the way he is playing his big shots this season, in the way he puts his powerful torso to work.

"He can hit quality fast bowlers out of the ground too and seems to have acquired more gears to his batting than Pant does. He will now start competing with his junior cricket colleague for the same spot in the Indian team. This will be an intriguing contest within a contest in Indian cricket," Manjrekar had told Hindustan Times.