CHENNAI: AS the sun went down at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Ishan Kishan was sitting on the grass banks near the dressing room. After spending close to nine hours batting over the last two days in a marathon 270, the East Zone captain was understandably spent.
However, one look at him, as he invited the media to sit down on the ground with him to have a chat with a wide smile, the satisfaction was visible in the 28-year-old. Not just as a batter who had put on an exhibition in red-ball batting, but also as a captain and leader who had rallied his team to a mammoth 708 against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final.
For a little over 12 minutes, Kishan spoke about his innings, partnerships, past setbacks, going back to the domestic grind, making India comeback in T20Is and a potential red-ball comeback. Through this interaction, whenever Jharkhand cricket or a teammate was mentioned, his excitement was visible.
"I actually really enjoyed it,” Kishan lit up, talking about going back to the domestic grind. He felt it gave him the time to understand what stagnated his growth and what needs to be done to improve. “When we play regularly for the Indian team, you just keep playing in a flow. You might be a very good player, which is why you're playing for India, but your growth stagnates at a certain point. So when you take one step back and go back to domestic cricket, you start from zero again. You start thinking, 'I need to get even better,' because today, there are so many players scoring runs. To get back into the team, your only option is to perform much better than them. Nothing against anyone, but I'm saying you'll only benefit if you do better,” he reflected.
The 28-year-old explained how, with time, the thought process changed, how it became more about the game than the self. “The batting doesn't change that much; it's just the mindset that changes over time. When you process these things and keep working hard, and then when you make a comeback, you rarely think about things like 'I will smash this, I will hit him like that.' Those thoughts change. You just start staying in the moment, taking it one over at a time, or one ball at a time. You remain relaxed and just play. Even if I go back home and play a district match, there will still be the pressure of not getting out against them. Pressure is everywhere, but as a professional, the important part is how you handle it — whether you are enjoying it or not. If you are enjoying it, fair enough, you will be happy staying out in the middle."
What, however, stood out even more was how much Kishan enjoyed talking about the younger players, taking ownership and becoming the leader he has for Jharkhand. “There are so many small things we often overlook in our daily routines — like just showing up, batting in the nets, and leaving. You don't look at your players or try to help them figure out how they can get better. But when you are the captain, it becomes your duty to help them, because if your teammates are improving, ultimately you will achieve the team's goals." Kishan elaborated. "You have to take responsibility. If you don't take it now, when will you? It's not like I am 22 years old and have just broken into the team. Having played for this long... obviously, when we were very young, we used to rely on our senior players to score runs and thought we would just support them. But now, being an established part of the squad, I feel it is crucial that I take up the primary role of scoring runs and making sure the team's total climbs because of me,” he added.
While becoming this mentally strong key leadership figure for his team, Kishan also understands that part of being a youngster is making mistakes and learning from them, as he did. He was also very candid about how Shikhar Mohan, who missed his hundred on Day 1, did not listen to his advice not to play the pull shot against a negative ploy from CV Milind. "I told him not to play the pull shot; he played it anyway, and got out,” Kishan laughed. “I told him not to take undue risks. If the pitch was tricky and you knew a dismissal was imminent, you could understand taking a gamble. But when you are playing a final and know how critical a partnership is, why throw it away? Still, my job was to guide him. If someone is experienced enough, our conversations are naturally different. But he is a young player making his debut here. He plays Ranji, but a Duleep Trophy final is a massive platform — there are cameras, media, selectors watching, and everyone's eyes are on you, so the pressure is real. I was just trying to help him realise: 'If you are well-set in the middle and batting fluently, why not score a hundred in these big games?' That's why I advised against it, but he didn't listen — maybe he will next time! (laughs). But fair enough, we didn't always listen either when we were younger."
The game is still not over, and neither is Kishan’s road back to the Indian Test team. For now, what seems clear is that Kishan is not just rebuilding his career as a red-ball batter, but also has become a leader who can serve Indian cricket for a long time in the years to come.