New Delhi,sep 14
Indian batter Ishan Kishan reflected on switching between longest and shortest formats of the game within days and identfying his roles during a partnership following India’s comprehensive win over Afghanistan in the first T20I at New Delhi on Sunday. Just a couple of days after leading East Zone to the Duleep Trophy title with a ‘Player of the Match’ effort of 270 and 80, Ishan continued to impress in coloured clothing, scoring a measured 33-ball 42 in an entertaining 121-run stand with an ever-blasting, hard-hitting Abhishek Sharma to set up an easy chase of 157 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. After a marathon double ton and an overall effort as a captain that would have undoubtedly taken a lot out of Ishan, the batter accepts the requirements that comes with being a multi-format player and said that players need to get into a different zone for a different format time and again and it has not been very difficult for India, whose players play multiple formats across international, domestic cricket and the IPL. “You know, as a professional, I think when it changes, we just have to adapt as soon as possible. We need to get into that zone again and again because this is not the first time we are doing this. We keep on playing different formats and then we come back to T20 cricket, yeah, it takes a bit of time to get along with the game sometimes, but at the same time, you know, you need to be just calm and composed in the middle so that you get the best out of yourself,” said Kishan in a video posted by BCCI. His knock consisted of five fours and a six, as compared to Abhishek’s chaotic 32-ball 82, which consisted of seven fours and sixes each.Ishan acknowledged that he might have played an ODI knock, taking a backseat after seeing Abhishek play his shots in his ultra-aggressive style. The batter highlighted the importance of identifying his role, saying that he would have taken an aggressor role had Abhishek not been in a good touch.
