Explosive wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan has been in the form of his life. On Saturday, he slammed his maiden T20I century, scoring a 42-ball hundred against New Zealand in the fifth T20I in Thiruvananthapuram. Kishan, who made a return to the national side after almost two years, was at the peak of his powers in the T20I series against the Kiwis, slamming 215 runs in four innings at an astonishing strike rate of 231.18. Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has sung praises for Kishan and the way he has torn apart the New Zealand bowlers. “It is not a knock; it is a statement. He is asking, ‘I am going for the World Cup, how many of you are joining me?’ That’s the question he has put in front of the selectors and team management,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel. Kishan has been at the forefront of India’s dominance in the ongoing series against New Zealand, which is being shaped less by runs than by how they respond to early damage. Speaking on Kishan’s comeback, Ashwin said, “If someone asks Ishan when he was out of the team, he can proudly say, ‘I was sharpening my knife’. The way he has come back, it has not looked like a comeback, really. He was with me in the 2023 World Cup squad, but he found himself out of the team. He has come back as twice the player he was. There is no lack of confidence and shot range. The knock he played was incredible. Incredible is not enough compliment.” After playing a blinder in the final T20I, Kishan also kept the wickets instead of Sanju Samson, who endured a poor series with the bat. While Kishan was emphatically effective with the bat, his glovework was sloppy, with him missing out on stumping opportunities twice in the game. Ashwin defended Kishan’s keeping, saying the dynamic batter was keeping after a long time. “Ishan is one of the better glovemen that India have. Maybe this was a game where he was keeping wickets after a long time. He hasn’t kept wickets for Varun Chakaravarthy a lot. All these things could be in play, and it could have been a surprise for him. Let’s not judge him by this game. He is a fine keeper,” he said.
‘If someone asks, Kishan can proudly say, ‘I was sharpening my knife’: Ashwin lauds Ishan Kishan’s phenomenal return as ‘twice the player he was’
