When not in team, I did not sulk but chose to score runs in domestic cricket: Ishan
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan revealed that rather than sulking over his near two-year absence from the Indian team, he focused on improving his game in order to be more consistent.
Kishan returned to Team India earlier this year for the T20I series against New Zealand and the T20 World Cup, earning his recall on the back of a superb domestic season in which he captained Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, scoring 500-plus runs.
“When I wasn’t playing and was out of the team, I told myself I can’t cry or sulk about it. It’s the easiest thing to do for any sportsman. It might earn you the sympathy of a few people, you might even feel good about it, but it won’t get you anywhere,” Ishan, the Sunrisers Hyderabad player, told JioHotstar.
“The only thing that could have gotten me back into the reckoning was runs. So, I just wanted to improve my game and score as many runs as I could, even if that meant hitting more sixes than any other batter.”
He added that his time away from the national side made him even more committed to the game, with that hunger translating into a heavy weight of domestic runs.
“Only consistent run-scoring can bring you back into the team. If 300 runs in a season are not enough, score 400; if not that, score 500. At the end of the day, cricket is our daily bread.
“When you’re out of the team, you understand its importance and start respecting every game. You become hungrier, and that was my focus: to become the best,” added Ishan.
Speaking about his mindset at the crucial Number 3 spot, Ishan said years of batting in that position had given him the confidence to pace an innings and bat deep.
Coming in at his usual slot, he underlined that assurance with a blistering 31-ball 74 as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down an imposing 228 for 6 set by Rajasthan Royals with ease in an IPL match in Jaipur on Saturday.
“After having played for so many years as a Number 3 batter, if you are set, you look to score big and bat till the end. It makes the job easier for the other batters with you, as they don’t feel the pressure.
“That is my only thinking, to keep things as simple as I can, be in a good headspace, and just take it one match at a time. If we play good cricket, the rest of the team will learn from it.
“In the end, it’s a team sport. When you play good cricket, it rubs off on the others. I have also made a lot of mistakes, so my only aim is not to repeat them, which unfortunately, I did in the end in this game,” he added.
During the match, Ishan Kishan also chatted with teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, telling the youngster about the aura he already commands among opponents and even how rival teams plan specifically for his wicket.
RR’s Sooryavanshi smashed a 37-ball 103 but his effort could not stop SRH from chasing down the mammoth total.
“I was just telling him about the madness with which he is batting and how he is hitting. Sometimes, you are even scared thinking about what the scorecard could have looked if he had stayed for a few more overs.
“So, it was important for us to get his wicket. It was 228, it could have easily been 258. Cricket is all about comebacks. We got him out and made a little comeback there. That’s what I told him, ‘When I am playing against you, please go a little easy on my team. I know all your secrets and inside stories’,” joked Ishan.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif too lavished praise on Sooryavanshi, saying the youngster bats like a seasoned professional and could become the country’s next “superstar”.
“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a once-in-a-generation talent. He is a fearless prodigy who’s dominating the IPL like he is playing gully cricket. Two hundred in two seasons, both at a strike-rate above 250. He bats like a veteran who has played international cricket for 10 years.
“His ability to pick the length early, his balance at the crease, and his raw power are all world-class. He also has a calm head on his young shoulders. That is a rare combination. If he stays fit, stays hungry, and keeps his focus, Indian cricket has found its next superstar for the next 20 to 25 years,” said Kaif.
