The Indian cricket team is all set to face Afghanistan in the first One Day International (ODI) at picturesque Dharamshala and all eyes are now on a glaring gap in the batting order. The team management has a huge tactical puzzle at hand — who will replace the iconic Virat Kohli at the all-important number three slot?
The ace Indian batter was officially ruled out of the three-match bilateral series after suffering a serious hamstring injury while playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the high-stakes IPL 2026 final. Medical assessments revealed Kohli had a distal semimembranosus tendon tear – a complex and rare hamstring injury that involves the thick tendon connecting the muscle to the inner part of the shinbone, just below the knee.
Morkel Confirms Tactical Experiments
The race for the all-important number three spot has pretty much boiled down to a straight contest between KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan. The players were seen practicing with laser-sharp focus ahead of the first ODI at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium. Kishan was involved in a lot of special wicket-keeping drills while Rahul spent his session working on his catching in the outfield, PTI reported.
Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, breaking his silence on the batting strategy, said this was the perfect opportunity for the team management to test their bench strength and tactical flexibility.
“Regarding the number three spot, it’s something we will experiment with in this series. Whether it’s Ishan, KL, or Yashasvi, this is a good opportunity,” Morkel stated. “We have a few ODIs coming up, and we want to give players chances in different roles. This will help us better understand how to structure the team and build multiple options.”
Shifting Roles and Wicketkeeping Dynamics
Young sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal remains an outside bet in the squad pecking order, but the basic conundrum is about Rahul’s best use. Kohli’s absence could mean a big promotion up the order although Rahul has looked very well settled and successful as India’s main number five batsman over the last few years.
Interestingly, Rahul has been India’s preferred choice as a wicketkeeper-batter in limited overs formats for a long period of time. But with explosive Ishan Kishan back in the ODI mix, the team management might entirely relieve Rahul of his glovework duties to let him focus solely on his batting responsibilities. The structural change was the major talking point during India’s only intense training session ahead of Saturday’s match. With the series opener just hours away, fans are eagerly waiting to see the final team sheet to see who gets the first shot at filling Kohli’s legendary shoes.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
