With India's first-choice T20I openers in Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul absent from the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa at home, it's a perfect opportunity for Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad to stake a claim for the third opener position.

The series will help to expand the pool of players from which the Indian selectors will select the squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will be held later this year in Australia. They'll almost certainly bring three openers, and with the first two spots already taken, the third spot is up for grabs.

Aakash Chopra, a former India opener who is now a commentator, believes Ishan is well ahead of the pack, citing his performance in the first T20I when he smacked 76 off 48 balls with 11 fours and three sixes.

“Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad aren’t the first-choice openers, so the race is between them for the third openers. At the moment, Ishan is way ahead in it. He started slow but his intent was right. He was a bit lucky too but he kept attacking consistently. He wasn’t worried about his milestone. Even in the over he got out, Ishan had already scored plenty of runs," Chopra said on his YouTube channel on Friday. 

Also Read: IND v SA 2022: Cannot ask Rohit and Rahul to drop themselves to play me - Ishan Kishan

While Ishan shone with a brilliant fifty, Gaikwad got off to a good start but couldn't convert it into a large score, falling for 15-ball 23.

Hardik Pandya, who returned to India after a stellar IPL 2022, showed flashes of his former self with an undefeated 31 off 12 with two fours and three sixes.

“Welcome back Hardik Pandya, you are an asset.  He struck 31 off 12. Then Rishabh Pant also played his part. Indian team had enough runs," Chopra said.

Chopra, on the other hand, chastised Pant for not bowling the full quota of legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal's overs.

“Not bowling Chahal’s four overs was a mistake. Even if it’s a small stadium and in the absence of dew, he should have been persisted with," he said.