Former Indian opening batter and commentator Aakash Chopra has reckoned that the Indian keeper-batter Ishan Kishan could emerge as India’s new vice-captain down the line, courtesy of his consistent performances.
Notably, Chopra’s comments came right after India’s semi-final victory over Sri Lanka in the Asian Games 2026 event. India, after batting first, posted 169/7 in 20 overs and defeated Sri Lanka by 124 runs on Thursday, October 1, to advance to the gold medal clash against Pakistan
Middle-order batter Ishan Kishan emerged as the top performer, scoring an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls, including four fours and five sixes. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra asserted that Ishan could well become India’s new deputy to Shreyas Iyer in the coming months.
“Our batting struggled a bit in the middle, faltered, and that’s where Ishan Kishan scored 80, man. And Ishan Kishan is also growing in stature. I mean, it feels like the day is not far when he will get the vice-captaincy. I have a strong feeling that he is going to become the Indian team’s vice-captain. It is going to happen. Whether it happens now or after 6 months. But this boy is unstoppable. He is continuously scoring runs,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Speaking about Ishan Kishan’s T20I career, the explosive batter has played 60 games, amassing 1781 runs at an average of 31.24 and a strike rate of 146.58, including one century and 13 half-centuries.
Further, the keeper-batter has been in sublime form in the ongoing calendar year, leading the run-scoring charts, accumulating 985 runs in 28 innings, including a century and seven half-centuries.
Kishan also played a pivotal role in India’s successful T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, scoring 317 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.22 and a strike rate of 193.29.
