Kishan holds the aces for World Cup spot, but Samson could still be in the running

Ishan Kishan vs Sanju Samson.

In an ideal world, if KL Rahul is fit, Kishan's Player-of-the-Series performance in the Caribbean would have possibly settled the second wicketkeeper debate for the World Cup. But because Rahul is still uncertain for the Asia Cup along with Shreyas Iyer, there's a small window of hope for Samson.

For now, here's what we know about Rahul and Iyer. That they have "resumed batting in the nets and are undergoing strength fitness drills." This is also perhaps why Kishan and Samson were both tried out in the ODI series in the Caribbean.

Kishan was accommodated at the top of the order in place of Rohit Sharma, and he may have made a compelling case to be a reserve opener with a chart-topping 184 runs at a strike rate of 111.51 and a best of 77, in the 3rd ODI in Tarouba on Tuesday.

Samson was slotted into the middle in place of Virat Kohli, and became the third No. 4 India tried out in the series after Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel. He displayed more than his bristling batting form and six-hitting prowess in a 41-ball 51 in the decider. After 12 ODI innings, Samson now averages 55.71 with 390 runs, including three half-centuries. He could get a few more opportunities in the T20Is in the Caribbean and USA to build on it.

Now, here's the thing. India's top three for the World Cup is all but set in stone: Rohit, Shubman Gill and Kohli. The earliest Kishan can slot in is at No. 4 should he play as wicketkeeper, a position he has been tried in, didn't excel in with 106 runs from six innings, but one where Samson has much of his success. So, there's a decision to make if Rahul isn't available, and the team management has to be prepared for this possibility.

In that case, do India still punt on Kishan to be their first choice wicketkeeper knowing very well that he'll have to move to a slightly more unfamiliar position? Or do they back Samson, who has the experience of batting there, should he make a compelling case in Ireland where he'll have three more opportunities, even if in a different format?

As that old cliche goes, Kishan has controlled the controllables quite well. In Bridgetown, where the surfaces for the first two ODIs were challenging, Kishan shelved his typically robust game to suit the demands of the team and dropped anchor.

On Tuesday, Kishan the marauder was out in full flow, throwing his hands at anything wide, pulling with ferocity and taking the attack to the spinners immediately by using his feet. He was given an early life on 9 when he was put down at backward point, but for much of his knock, there was positivity and bristling energy typical of him. There was a tempo he was keen to set and he ensured he wasn't letting the bowlers off the hook.

There was decisiveness when he was taking on the short ball, whether it was trying to pull or simply help it down to long leg. The whip behind square for six off Romario Shepherd, in particular, was a stunner. Initially looking to duck, Kishan realised it was worth a go, and quickly got inside the line while using his wrists to pull behind square. It's a shot that only incredible hand-eye coordination could have made possible. It brough up his fifty off 43 balls. The beauty of Kishan's game lay in how quickly he had judged the surface to be a belter and adapted accordingly.

However, Kishan would have been gutted to have missed out on a hundred for the taking, but for now, he has done everything that has been asked of him, something coach Rahul Dravid alluded to after the Barbados leg of the ODI series.

Now to Samson, an enigma in T20 cricket. A batter with unbelievable power and skill for someone who started off as a touch player over a decade ago, incidentally handpicked by Dravid at Rajasthan Royals. Samson's issue, though, has been consistency.

In Tarouba, he needed runs to justify the faith. And at No. 4, he came in with a platform set up for him, at 154 for 2 after 23 overs. The pressure was off, even though it's possible he may have felt the jitters from within. In the second ODI, he scored just 9 and was part of a batting meltdown that could have been averted with a little bit of caution. That didn't seem to play on his mind in the decider as he came out having fun, swinging for the hills, clearing his front leg and seemingly hell bent on depositing the ball into Port-of-Spain. He started with two sixes off his first four balls against legspinner Yannic Cariah.

It seemed as if sustained aggression was his mantra. Samson was picking deliveries off his pads, flicking them over the ropes, lofting deliveries inside-out and on one occasion, stayed inside the crease to open up the off side and cut behind point to a delivery he could have driven. Samson was manipulating fields with sky-high confidence.

Samson was equally excellent while using his feet to get to the spin against the legspinner and go straight downtown. He launched his fifty off 39 balls and looked to go big, and perished in the process, hitting a slower delivery straight to mid-off.

You could look back and wonder if he missed a chance to convert. Or you could say that he attacked his way through and played with an intensity and purpose which was the need of the hour. Perhaps it's what they may need on a flat Ahmedabad track where maybe 330-340 will be par, especially with dew likely to play a massive part.

Samson now has three straight T20Is in Ireland to present his case further for that middle-order spot. Of course, a lot will depend on how Rahul and Iyer pull up too. There's a school of thought that the World Cup XI should play the Asia Cup opener against Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele, barring the one odd spot. And if Samson needs to find himself there, he'll need an extraordinary run of games in Malahide, showing more than just glimpses of what he did in Tarouba.

For now, it's reasonable to infer that Kishan holds the aces, but Samson is very much in the running. If he does leapfrog Kishan, it could be because of a massive surge in form that convinces the team management of his readiness to play the middle-order enforcer better than Kishan. Either way, it'll be a tough call for the selectors to make.