Prior to IPL 2024, Ishan Kishan was under the spotlight as the wicketkeeper-batter lost his BCCI central contract after missing the Ranji Trophy. It happened after the board sent a warning letter to centrally-contracted players to not prioritise IPL over domestic cricket, but Kishan ignored it alongwith Shreyas Iyer, and the pair faced the brunt of BCCI’s punishment.
Since then, Kishan returned to action in IPL 2024 and has played a key part in Mumbai Indians’ revival this season. The Hardik Pandya-led side were winless in their opening three games, but have bounced back with back-to-back wins.
After MI’s win against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday, Kishan was asked about his time away from cricket. Responding to the controversy, Kishan said, “I was practicing. When I took time off from the game, people were talking a lot. Many things came on social media. But you should also realize that many things are not in the hands of the players.”
“The only thing you can do is utilise the time properly. Also the mindset to think about the previous Ishan Kishan, I would never leave a delivery in the first two overs even if they are bowling well. With time I have learnt that even 20 overs is a big game, you can take your time and you can go ahead. Even though we have lost matches, we want to work together as a team. Changes have come like even if I am not performing and if I know someone else is not performing, I talk to them. I want to know what they are thinking. So these are things which helped me in the break,” he further added.
Against RCB, Kishan smacked 69 runs off 34 balls, packed with seven fours and five sixes, as MI successfully chased down a target of 197 runs with ease, racing to 199/3 in 15.3 overs.
Kishan is currently MI’s highest run-scorer with 161 runs in five matches, including a half-century. He has been key to MI’s sudden revival this season and will be hoping to build on his form. A good IPL 2024 campaign for Kishan could mean selection in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
