Ishan Kishan breaks silence on loosing central contract, Ranji Trophy controversy

Aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan is currently in the form of his life in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). He scored a blistering half century of 69 runs off just 34 balls including seven fours and five sixes against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium to help Mumbai Indians script a convincing win.

Following the completion of the game, Ishan spoke about the tough few weeks leading up to the IPL during an interaction. Kishan was dropped from the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) for the 2023-24 season. Before the IPL, he was picked for the South Africa series in December 2024 but withdrew, mentioning mental fatigue.

Moreover, the aggressive cricketer didn’t make himself available for international selection in the following months. Despite requests from India’s head coach Rahul Dravid and BCCI secretary Jay Shah to play in the Ranji Trophy, Kishan chose to get ready for the IPL alongside his Mumbai Indians captain, Hardik Pandya.

Reflecting on the incidents, 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 added.