Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that a massive price tag will not affect Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan as his team (Mumbai Indians) have shown ‘great faith’ in him as well. Kishan, 23, made history on Saturday as he became the second-most expensive Indian player after the veteran Yuvraj Singh.

However, Mumbai Indians bought him for 15.25 crores. And, he eventually finished as the most expensive player bought on the first day of the auction as well. But, Manjrekar feels that Ishan Kishan won’t feel the pressure as well.

Speaking to Star Sports, he said: “I don’t think the price tag will affect him too much because the team has shown great faith in him. I am sure it’s something they would have told him. When we talk bout huge price tags, bringing a lot of pressure, the player feels the pressure when the team is gambling on him. Someone like Nicholas Pooran (10.75 crores) can feel pressure. We saw how Yuvraj Singh, when he was sold for 14 crores, his own confidence went down. He was on the slide, Ishan Kishan is at the peak of the powers. He is at the same franchise, I don’t think the price tag is going to affect him. I don’t think Ishan Kishan will feel the pressure at all.”

Ishan Kishan had a breakout season in 2020 when he smashed 516 runs in 14 innings at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 145.76 with 4 50+ scores as well. Ishan Kishan, however, had an average season in last year’s IPL.

“Clearly what you can see is they retained four players. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard. If they could retain 5, they would have retained Ishan Kishan. They were desperate to retain him but they couldn’t. But they were like, ‘Come what may, we will buy him back from the market,'” the veteran shared.