Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Mumbai Indians batter Ishan Kishan on Friday gave a big update on his batting position in the 2021 T20 World Cup, which is set to start from October 17 in UAE and Oman. The southpaw, who smashed 84 off just 32 deliveries in MI’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday and was adjudged as Man of the Match, stated that he is selected in the Indian squad to open the innings.
Kishan was not in form in the major part of the IPL 2021 but the pocket dynamo has found his rhythm by the tail end of the league stage as he scored a couple of blistering knocks. Even Suryakumar Yadav found the sweet spot of his bat on Friday after scoring 82 off 40 balls. This, indeed would have made the Indian selectors, team management and the fans happy, who would be more eager to see Kishan and Suryakumar in the mega event.
I had a good chat with Virat bhai, Jasprit bhai- Kishan
After defeating the Manish Pandey-led Sunrisers Hyderabad by 42 runs, Ishan Kishan opened up on his performance in the match and informed that Indian stars like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah among others supported him during his rough patch. “A very good thing for me and for the team, getting some runs, and getting into good touch before the World Cup. Was in good state of mind, was very positive. We had to get somewhere around 250-260, it was the intent and positive intent,” Kishan said in the post-match presentation.
The southpaw added, “I had a good chat with Virat bhai, Jasprit bhai also helped me. Even HP (Hardik Pandya), KP (Krunal Pandya) were there to support me. Everyone supported me and they said it's a learning stage for you, make sure you learn from here and don't make the same mistakes in the upcoming World Cup games.”
Virat bhai said - 'you are selected as an opener- Kishan
While throwing light on his performance and the helping hand he received from some of his senior campaigners, Kishan revealed his selection in the Indian team is to for opening the innings. “I would love to open and that's what Virat bhai said - 'you are selected as an opener, you just have to be prepared for that.' In the bigger stage, you need to be prepared for every situation I feel,” Kishan said.
After being dropped by the Mumbai Indians in a handful of matches in the IPL 2021, Kishan was sent to open alongside Rohit Sharma. In those two innings, Kishan scored 50* off 25 and 84 off 32. Mumbai defeated SRH on Friday at Abu Dhabi but failed to qualify for the playoffs due to inferior net run rate.