Earlier this year, Ishan Kishan smashed a 21-ball 62 for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, including four sixes off Kuldeep Yadav in an over.
The knock showed what he could do with his swashbuckling and fearless style of play.
But an innings like that was often sandwiched between poor scores or ones where he failed to convert starts into big ones due to poor shot selection.
And it is something the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman is well aware and wants to set things straight, starting from the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy.
Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday after an intense practice session, Kishan said, “I think I had a decent IPL, but what I learnt was that I needed to be more consistent and work on shot selection. If I do that I know I can score big at this level.”
Important season
Kishan has been part of the India A squad and Duleep Trophy and will now play for the Board President’s XI.
He feels this is an important season for him to stay on the selectors’ radar.
“The target for this season is to score big runs, be consistent and not repeat the mistakes of the past couple of years.”
Mental aspect
Though Kishan has all the shots in the book, the mental aspect of the game is something that is holding him back and the youngster showed candour in acknowledging it.
“With me, the more I think, say he is a left-arm spinner that I can attack, I stop focussing on watching the ball.
“So I know I need to keep talking to myself to just focus on the ball and not anticipate where the bowler might pitch the ball.”
He is just 20 and knows he has a good chance to make it to the national side like the way Rishabh Pant, another 20-year-old has shown.
Keeping skills
And one way to do that will also depend a lot on improving his keeping skills, an area in which he has a good mentor in M.S. Dhoni.
“Mahi bhai has given me few drills which I am following. When playing in the longer format, we tend to get up early thinking the batsman is going to hit the ball.
“So he spoke about needing to stay low. He also spoke about needing to focus just when the bowler is up at his mark and not always because otherwise you tend to lose concentration when it matters.”
