Unimpressed with the recent performances of Ishan Kishan with the bat, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir issued a hard-hitting statement about the wicket-keeper batter amid the ongoing T20I series between India and New Zealand on Sunday. A lot was expected from Ishan after the Indian opener impressed one and all with his dominating double-century in Bangladesh.
Despite the double century, Ishan Kishan failed to find a place in Xi in the Sri Lanka ODIs and only returned to the fold when New Zealand toured India. Though Kishan has regularly featured in ODI and T20I series against New Zealand, the premier batter has failed to serve another timely reminder to the national selectors in the World Cup year.
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Reflecting on Kishan’s recent performances ahead of the 2nd T20I against New Zealand, which India won by 6 wickets, during a chat on Star Sports, former Indian opener Gambhir said, “It’s not only one chink in his armor. Just the ability to not be able to maneuver..it’s easy to hit those big sixes but the ability to rotate strikes consistently. And there was enough purchase for spinners as well. It was pretty much evident when you got Michael Bracewell against Ishan Kishan.”
He further added, “I think these young players need to learn how to rotate strike quickly because, on a wicket like this, it’s not gonna be easy to go down the ground and hit those big sixes. It’s a surprise because of the way he batted in Bangladesh after scoring that double-hundred. He has struggled after that, everyone thought his graph will start growing up with the kind of innings he has played.”
Ishan Kishan was cleaned up by New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell for a forgetful score of 4 off 5 balls in the opening T20I at Ranchi. After the hosts suffered a defeat in the 1st T20I, the Indian opener was involved in a run-out during India’s successful run-chase at Lucknow.
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Describing the same, Gautam Gambhir said, “He still has to work a lot against playing spin because people will use a lot of spin against him in the first 6 overs. Because he still manages to play fast bowling very well. The sooner he improves against spin, the better it’s gonna be for him, especially in the T20 format.”
