"Tujhe koi kuch bolta hai toh usko bol mujhse aake baat kare" - Rohit Sharma's words that boosted Ishan Kishan's confidence
Ishan Kishan has revealed how Rohit Sharma's unconditional support and backing has helped his confidence and played a major role behind him tasting success. Kishan said his Mumbai Indians captain has always protected his naturally aggressive style, even if it means taking the subsequent criticism onto himself.
Ishan Kishan's observations came in an interview with Aakash Chopra on the latter's YouTube channel. The wicketkeeper-batsman narrated an incident where Rohit Sharma once allowed him to go for a six even on his first ball, asking his detractors to come "talk to him" if they have any problem with it.
Ishan Kishan said:
"He keeps everything very simple and doesn't complicate much. For example, if he feels I have to take more singles, then he won't say this to me during a match but rather just come to me during practice and say, 'See Ishan you can hit a six whenever you want so you just focus on taking singles right now. Try and take 5 singles out of six balls.'"
The young wicketkeeper-batter added:
"Even while batting, when he looks at me and if he thinks that I am a bit confused because of my performances, he just comes to me and says, 'Go and play your own game without worrying about anything at all. Even if you want to go for a six on the first ball and you get out... aur tujhe koi kuch bolta hai toh usko bol mujhse aake baat kare (if someone says anything to you, ask them to come talk to me)."
Ishan Kishan has already displayed this approach twice in his nascent international career. The 23-year-old is the only player to hit half-centuries on his ODI and T20I debuts and the only Indian to start those knocks with a six and a four respectively. Overall, Ishan Kishan has 140 international runs from five games at a strike-rate of over 135. He also has 1284 IPL runs at a strike rate of 131.96.
"You don't feel the pressure of the next game" - Ishan Kishan on Rohit Sharma's leadership
Ishan Kishan further stated that Rohit Sharma works in a clear and transparent way where players don't feel the pressure of the coming games. He said the Indian white-ball vice-captain gives everyone a free reign and asks just for some adaptibility in return. He elaborated:
"When a captain exudes such confidence in you, you'll definitely feel much better than you were doing 10 minutes back. He keeps things simple, he comes to you and clears everything at once in a way where you don't feel the pressure of the next game. He's just like, 'No one will say anything to you, you play your own game, practice the way you want, just play according to the situation.'"
Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma, who have played together for four years for the Mumbai Indians, will unite once again when the IPL 2021 resumes in September.