‘When you aren’t part of a great team…’: Ishan Kishan’s emotional remark on losing playing XI spot at 2023 WC

Team India produced a brilliant effort against Australia on Sunday night, defeating the visitors by 44 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series in Thiruvananthapuram.

After being invited to bat, India made a strong start thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed a 24-ball half-century before Ishan Kishan (52) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (58) also smashed crucial fifties, propelling India to a mammoth score of 235/4 in 20 overs. In return, the Aussies could only reach 191/9.

This was the first time in T20Is when India’s top-3 batters in the order registered fifty-plus scores. While Jaiswal laid the foundation with an explosive start, Gaikwad largely played the second-fiddle role throughout his entire innings, with Ishan Kishan taking care of the big-hitting following Jaiswal’s departure. Ishan had also smashed a fifty in India’s opening game of the series and showed big-hitting prowess, reaching his half-century in just 29 balls.

Ishan is one of the only three players in the T20I squad who had also been the part of the ODI World Cup squad that faced a crushing defeat to Australia in the final on November 19. The young opener had taken part in the first two matches of the tournament, making into the playing XI as a forced change following Shubman Gill’s dengue infection. As Gill returned, Ishan was excluded, never to play again in the 2023 edition.

Following India’s win in the second T20I, Ishan opened up on spending the time on the sidelines and eventually enduring the heartbreak in the final. The left-hander stated that it was important for him to remain fresh despite not playing regularly.

“It is all hunger, when you are not a part of a great team. We played like champions at the World Cup. I was feeling bad, but you can’t help it. In international cricket, times will come when you will not play but at the same time, you will have to be fresh. You will have to make it count when the time comes. When the opportunity comes, you will have to go for it,” Ishan told JioCinema.

Ishan had also been a regular member of the Indian ODI team preceding the World Cup but lost his place in the XI following the arrivals of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer from their respective injuries. In the current T20I squad, Ishan is one of the two wicketkeepers – the other being Jitesh Sharma.

India will return for the third T20I of the series on November 28 when both sides move to Guwahati.