Ishan Kishan always maintained the belief that he was going to return to the Indian team, even as he spent two years in the wilderness, totally out of selection conversations. On a recent appearance on the ‘2 Sloggers’ podcast, Kishan explained how he stayed confident and kept scoring runs in the chances he got to showcase his abilities, even as he stopped expecting another callup. It was that self-belief that led to the call-up. “I was confident, I said it too. It was not like I was holding myself back. You just have to keep going,” he said. The response came when he was shown a video during the period he was out of favour. Kishan is seen promising a fan he will give them his jersey once he returns to the India fold. “You just have to keep working hard. As a cricket, what else can we do? We have one job, to keep working, and to keep scoring runs and let the bat talk for ourselves,” Kishan added. Once a promising up-and-comer within India’s ranks, Kishan fell out of favour with the national team rapidly at the end of 2023 in the aftermath of his request for a break due to mental fatigue. He spent two years put from then, following which, his super form in domestic cricket and a slice of luck allowed him to make an unlikely return to the national setup. Also Read | Quick Comment | From outlaw to hero: How Ishan Kishan’s brutal hundred solved India’s No. 3 crisis and possibly threatened Sanju Samson’s opening spot Announced as backup wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup, an injury to Tilak Varma allowed Kishan to make his comeback in the recent series against New Zealand. He took the opportunity with open arms, smashing 215 runs in four matches, including a match-winning hundred, his first in the format, in the last T20I in Trivandrum. Kishan said the period out of the India setup allowed him to reflect and understand the fact that controlling the controllables, while a cliche, does actually lead to positive results. Story continues below this ad “After a point, you stop expecting. You just have to keep doing the things (in your control). It’s your job to score runs, it’s your job to hold on to catches. Everything else will fall into place. That was my only plan,” he said. “I think it worked really well because throughout that time I kept myself in happy. I was in touch with family and friends. I focused on myself and what I could change.”
Ishan Kishan on his India comeback: ‘After a point you stop expecting… but I was confident’
