Ishan Kishan believes taking up the Jharkhand captaincy in 2024 played a major role in his growth as a cricketer and as a person, saying the responsibility helped him become calmer and kept him away from his “wild child” days. Kishan returned to domestic cricket with Jharkhand after losing his BCCI central contract in late 2023. He also took over as captain and has continued to lead the side whenever he has been available.
The 28-year-old has since made his way back into India’s squad in white-ball cricket. He also produced one of the biggest innings of his career on Monday, scoring 270 for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone. Kishan said taking greater responsibility has become important for him as he has grown older and established himself in the team.
Duleep Trophy Final: Day 2: Highlights
“You have to take responsibility. If you don’t take it now, when will you? It’s not like I am a 22-year-old and have just broken into the team. When we were very young, we used to rely on our senior players to score runs and thought we would just support them,” Kishan said during the post-day press conference.
“But now, being an established part of the squad, I feel it is crucial that I take up the primary role of scoring runs and making sure the team’s total climbs because of me,” he said.
Kishan said the experience of leading a team had changed his mindset and helped him become more composed.
“Going through this whole process leads to immense personal growth, and while you might not realise it immediately, your mindset shifts completely, and you become much calmer about things,” he said.
CAPTAINCY CHANGED HIS APPROACH
Kishan said captaincy has taught him to remain aware of everything happening around him rather than focusing only on his own performance.
“I think when you are the captain of the team, the first thing is situational awareness…you have to stay alert the entire day on the field to understand what is happening and what isn’t. You have to take care of all your teammates,” he said.
He also pointed to the responsibility of helping teammates improve, something he said can easily be overlooked when a player is focused only on his own game.
“There are so many small things we often overlook in our daily routines-like just showing up, batting in the nets, and leaving. You don’t look at your players or try to help them figure out how they can get better,” Kishan said.
“But when you are the captain, it becomes your duty to help them, because if your teammates are improving, ultimately you will achieve the team’s goals,” he said.
Kishan’s 270 in the Duleep Trophy final was another example of the approach he has developed. He said he resisted the temptation to play more aggressively because East Zone’s priority was to put up a big first-innings total.
“It was a very good innings because I always kept the team goal first. I could have played attacking shots in many moments, but I think when you are batting on such a big stage, it is very important to prioritise what the team decides on the total first,” he said.
“We won the toss and chose to bat first, and the plan was to put up a big total on the board. So, I had to show a lot of temperament, keep good shot selection. So, I’m really happy with this innings,” he said.
– Ends
