Former India batter Gautam Gambhir said Ishan Kishan should be India's first-choice opener alongside Rohit Sharma in One-Day Internationals.
Kishan smashed the fastest double century in ODIs, when he slammed a brilliant 210 from 131 balls during the third ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram earlier this month.
With veteran Shikhar Dhawan dropped for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in January, Gambhir believes Kishan deserves to continue as the opener in the ODI team.
"I'm amazed we're discussing this because someone's got a double-hundred in the previous innings. The discussion is over. It has to be Ishan Kishan. Someone who can get a double-hundred in those conditions against a reasonable attack, especially at home, should play," Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo on being asked who should be Rohit's opening partner in ODIs.
"He got what 200 by the 35th over mark? You can't look at anyone beyond Ishan Kishan. He has to be given a longer run. He can also keep wickets as well, so he can do two jobs for you. So for me, that discussion shouldn't be there. If someone else had got a double hundred, I think we would have gone gung-ho over that individual, but it's not the case with Ishan Kishan. Because we still continue to talk about other players. For me, that debate is over."
Gambhir wants Suryakumar Yadav to bat at No 4 in the ODI team despite his modest record in 50-overs cricket with his Mumbai team-mate. He also gave his backing to Shreyas Iyer at No 5, who has enjoyed a good run across formats despite his problems with the short ball.
"It's very difficult to look beyond Rohit and Ishan Kishan to open the batting, Virat (Kohli) at three, Surya at four, Shreyas (Iyer) at five, because he's been incredible in the last one-and-a-half years. Yes, he's had issues against the short ball, but he's been able to manage it. You can't be the best against everything but if you're able to manage it and got the numbers going for you, you can't look beyond Shreyas at No. 5 and Hardik (Pandya) at 6."
