"Numbers don't always tell the whole story" - Ashish Nehra on Ishan Kishan's batting form in IND vs SA 2022 series
Former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra stated that while Ishan Kishan scored a lot of runs in the T20I series against South Africa, it won't be easy for a batter like him to consistently do well in T20 cricket.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Nehra pointed out that Ishan has been doing well with the bat in his recent appearances. However, the Gujarat Titans (GT) coach opined that the southpaw should be keen on scoring impactful runs for the side.
Nehra reckoned that the talented youngster didn't look very comfortable with the bat in the first T20I against the Proteas, but still went on to score 76 runs.
Ashish Nehra said:
" Ishan Kishan's numbers have been good in this series, but numbers don't always tell the whole story. He has played with a good strike rate too, but it won't be easy for a player like him to do that consistently, especially in T20Is. But the runs he scores have to be impactful. He scored 76 runs in the first game, but he didn't look that comfortable. He would want to convert his starts into big scores."
It is worth mentioning that Ishan Kishan managed to impress many with his gutsy knocks in the five-match T20I series against the Proteas. With 206 runs from five games, he finished as the highest run-getter in the series. Furthermore, he had a fantastic strike rate of 150.36 to his name.
"He might be the leading run-scorer of the series, but there's still scope for improvement" - Parthiv Patel on Ishan Kishan
In the video, Parthiv Patel spoke about how Ishan can still make certain improvements to his game. He suggested that the left-hander played with a fearless approach in the series and should continue to do so.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also highlighted how Kishan was under the scanner for his patchy form in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). Patel added that it isn't easy for a player to bounce back after such a season.
Patel explained:
"Ishan Kishan had scored 400 plus runs in IPL 2022 and did well in this series as well. But his fearless approach was missing in the IPL. We got a glimpse of that against SA. It is always difficult to bounce back after such a season as he drew a lot of criticism. He hit two sixes in the very first over today when he got the chance and that should be his approach going forward. He might be the leading run-scorer of the series, but there's still scope for improvement."
India Squad
Hardik Pandya (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Kishan will next be seen in action during Team India's upcoming two-match T20I series against Ireland. The first match is scheduled to be played in Dublin on June 26.