NEWS
Follow UsIshan Kishan last played for India against Australia in November 2023, and even though he was a part of the South Africa series, he was not picked in the Playing XI. Reportedly, Kishan asked for a break from the side but wasn’t granted immediately - although the truth in the report is yet to be confirmed.
During the India-England Test series, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid was asked about the availability of Ishan Kishan, but then he dodged the question, saying Kishan had to play some cricket to be eligible for the return. Then Kishan was removed from the central contract by the BCCI, putting a huge question mark on his selection for the World Cup.
However, Kishan brought himself back into contention with a ferocious innings of 69 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but when he was asked about the same, Kishan decided to keep the ball in the selectors’ court.
“That is something that is not in my hand. I take things very easy right now. I just have to take one match at a time. It’s a very big tournament. You don’t want to overstep somewhere. I’m just taking one game at a time,” Ishan Kishan said in the post-match press conference.
“There's nothing like that I want to prove to someone. I just have to go there and enjoy it because I've learned that you don't have to put pressure on yourself about things that are not in your hands. The uncontrollable is there, and you have to figure out what is controllable and uncontrollable.
“If I had been batting earlier, if I had been the old Ishan Kishan if they had been good bowling in the first two overs, he would have come under a little pressure. But with time, I have learned that 20 overs is a massive game. You can take that time. Again, you can believe in yourself and move forward,” he said.
With dew coming into the picture in the second innings, batting became really easy for Mumbai. But then, one couldn’t downplay the amount of application both Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav showed on the field.
“At the Wankhede, whenever you play, and the wicket is good, you always look to score more than 200. It's not about scoring 220; if we have a good start, we look to get as many runs as possible. So that is the thing. You can't set a certain target for your team or yourself. You just have to keep batting or keep looking at the total and what other bowlers are doing. So you keep planning.
“If the wicket falls, the planning will change. If our partnership is good, the planning will be different. It's a different story for us right now regarding how we take this thing. Our plan is not to set a total for ourselves. Let's just look at the situation and play our best cricket.”
Ishan also heaped praise on skipper Hardik Pandya for his incredible work ethic and how he is so keen on performing well. Against RCB, Pandya could only face six balls, but maximised the impact by scoring 21 runs off it.
“When he comes on the field, his work ethic is very different, and I know he must enjoy it. I know him personally and have spent much time with him. People also recognise your hard work, what you are going through, and how you are still doing well for the team…
“I just feel happy about him. His situation is that he is so keen on performing well, going there in the middle, hitting six on the very first ball, knowing that things can go differently and people can question you. But Hardik Pandya has that in himself,’ Kishan concluded.
