Why Ishan Kishan’s debut knock reminded Virender Sehwag of MS Dhoni
Former India batsman Virender Sehwag pointed out an interesting coincidence involving Ishan Kishan and ex-India captain MS Dhoni after the youngster’s match-winning knock.
Ishan Kishan made a memorable India debut, smashing 56 from only 32 balls as the hosts defeated England by seven wickets in the 2nd T20I on Sunday. With the victory, India leveled the five-match series 1-1.
Taking to Twitter, Virender Sehwag praised Ishan Kishan for his fearlessness and attacking batting. In the same tweet, he added that the 22-year-old’s performance reminded him of something similar that once happened in Indian cricket.
Sehwag’s tweet read:
“A young keeper batsman from Jharkhand promoted up the batting order and proving his caliber. This has happened before. Loved the fearlessness and attacking batting of Ishan Kishan."
In the first part of the tweet, Sehwag is referring to none other than the legendary MS Dhoni. In an ODI against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam in April 2005, the then Indian captain Sourav Ganguly decided to promote Dhoni to bat at number three.
Till that point in his career, the wicketkeeper-batsman had batted mostly lower down the order and hadn't gotten a proper chance to make an impact. At Vizag, though, Dhoni made full use of his golden opportunity by smashing 148 in 123 balls with 15 fours and four sixes.
The similarities between Dhoni and Ishan Kishan don’t end there. The youngster represents Jharkhand in domestic cricket, and Dhoni also belongs to the same region. He was born in Ranchi, which is the capital of Jharkhand, and put the place on the world map with his cricketing exploits.
Learnt a lot playing for Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan
Speaking after a successful debut, the left-hander admitted that his IPL experience helped him a lot going into the big match. Ishan Kishan hammered 516 runs for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020 and was their leading run-scorer. He stated:
"It is not easy to come out here and play your first game against a top team. I think Mumbai Indians have taught me a lot. I have been there with so many senior players that they have. They have given me very good advice and that has really helped me. I am looking forward to continuing doing that,"
Despite winning the Man of the Match award, the 22-year-old said that he was disappointed not to finish off the game. Ishan Kishan was dismissed going for a reverse sweep against Adil Rashid.
Reflecting on his dismissal, he said:
"I think that (reverse sweep) shot is what I love to play. It just did not go my way today. But I was not happy because I wanted to finish the game. I got a good start, plus I was batting with a senior player who was set there and he kept on scoring runs. So I was upset because I just wanted to finish the game.”
After Ishan Kishan was dismissed, skipper Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 73 from 49 and finished off the game with a stylish six off Chris Jordan.