Captain Cummins Has Given Us All A Lot Of Freedom And Confidence: Kishan

It took Ishan Kishan just one innings to turn a new page in his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, smashing a 45-ball century against Rajasthan Royals on March 23 (Sunday). The left-hander, who was let go by Mumbai Indians, took no prisoners in SRH’s IPL 2025 opener, smashing every bowler. 

Kishan ended with 106 off 47 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes, stunning everyone at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. In the mid-innings break, the left-hander stated that skipper Pat Cummins has given the entire team a lot of freedom and confidence heading into the IPL 2025 season. 

“Feels good, it [the century] was coming for a while. I wanted to get this [hundred] last season, but I'm happy to get that first hundred. The team [SRH] has put their faith in me, and I want to do my best for them. The captain [Cummins] has given us all a lot of freedom and confidence; hats off to the management,” Kishan said during the mid-innings break.

The 26-year-old began the pre-season, too, with some swag, smashing half-centuries for fun in SRH’s intra-squad practice games. At 45/1, Kishan had the perfect platform and continued the onslaught with a top-notch century. 

“When Abhishek and Head started, they gave a lot of confidence to us batters in the dugout. The pitch was looking good and we were just trying to get them under pressure. We need to be on point with the ball, keep it simple. Rajasthan batters are good but if we bowl in the right areas and to the plans, we should be good.”