New Delhi, Sep 15 — Ishan Kishan believes that learning to stay calm at the crease has transformed his approach to batting, as the East Zone captain reflected on his recent Duleep Trophy campaign after guiding his side to the title at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Kishan believes moving away from the fear of failure and allowing his instincts to take over has helped him become more effective in the middle.
“I think initially there were a lot of thoughts going on in my head. You have to get runs for your team, you have to make everyone proud, you have to take care of your place in the team. So you bat accordingly, and when you think about this, I think a fear of failure comes into your game. So you start thinking about, I don’t want to lose my wicket, which also initiates the fact that you won’t be trying so many good shots,” Kishan told broadcasters ahead of India’s second T20I against Afghanistan.
His central message, however, remained rooted in simplicity and composure.
“But at the end of the day, I think I’ve just realised that if you’re in the middle, if you’re calm, you’re just trying to watch the ball and not the bowler, and you’re just playing your shots. So, everything is taken care of, and you just have to keep it simple because at the end of the day when you’re playing at this level, obviously you have all the skills and everything. It’s just the mindset, which is the most important thing. So the calmer you are in the middle, the better you get every day,” he added.
Kishan, who led East Zone to their first Duleep Trophy triumph in 13 years, said his current method is built around reacting to the delivery rather than deliberately searching for scoring areas.
“I think I’m not over-trying to play shots. I’m not thinking about playing shots. It’s just that my body’s reacting to it. So I’m just focusing more on my hand-eye coordination. It’s not that I’m thinking about a particular area where I want to hit. It’s just about watching the ball till the last moment, understanding what the bowler is trying to do and where my run-scoring options are,” Kishan stated.
The wicketkeeper-batter also explained how his thinking during a match has changed. He recalled his approach during the Duleep Trophy when East Zone still had plenty of work to do despite being ahead in the contest.
“My job was to understand that (the) match is not over until it’s over. There was still one day left, so I had to get those big runs coming because we were two wickets down and I know one partnership could make the shoulders down (in the third innings), but it’s important to just be there, spend some time, so that they lose interest in the game and we are on the upper hand.”
For Kishan, the same principle now extends beyond batting. He said he remains keen to contribute in the field when he is not keeping wickets, while acknowledging that his catching needs further attention.
“Hundred percent. I have been athletic throughout my life, and I feel I’m very good when I’m fielding as well. But still I have dropped a few catches in the past few games, so I’ll have to work a lot on my fielding as well.”
He added that fielding opportunities can have a major bearing on matches, particularly when chances go down early.
“Because at this level, sometimes you drop catches and you don’t realise it because the batsman did not score so much. But if you drop someone good from a good team, like you drop him around fourth or fifth over and he ends up getting runs, it will be a huge difference for us.”
Kishan said he is therefore working on both aspects of his game so he can make the most of whichever role comes his way.
“So I’m just trying to work more on my fielding and wicketkeeping as well. So whenever you get an opportunity to keep or field, you’re just there,” he concluded.