After losing BCCI central contract and an ordinary 2024 season, Ishan Kishan shines for his new franchise. (BCCI)
It’s the impact players who often make the game-changing contributions in games between teams of roughly equal strength. Opposition captains are aware of what the consistent ones bring to the table, but if mavericks like Ishan Kishan have their day, it can leave them scratching their heads.
On his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, the left-hander’s first IPL hundred took his team almost to the highest total in IPL history, which was too much for Rajasthan Royals to challenge.
However, at one stage when Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel were piling on the pressure during the chase, it seemed Sunrisers would need every one of their 286 runs. And it was only Ishan’s onslaught throughout the innings – 106 not out in 47 balls with 11 fours and six maximums – that got them there after Travis Head had provided a typically belligerent start with a 31-ball 67 and Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen played useful cameos.
That there was no one in the Royals line-up to replicate Ishan’s heroics probably decided the outcome of the match.
His celebration – running around the pitch with sheer joy mixed with relief showed how much it meant to him. Ishan’s talent has never been questioned but Sunday’s hundred could be seen as some sort of redemption after a tough last 15-18 months, during which he lost his BCCI central contract after returning home midway through a tour of South Africa citing mental fatigue and had a less-than-stellar 2024 IPL season.
“Whatever the situation was, I was never a person who was thinking about those bad moments. I was very much in the present, thinking about what’s needed. I need to perform, I need to do well for myself. Whatever I do, it will help me at the end of the day,” Ishan told reporters after the victory.
Flying start all right 💥🧡 pic.twitter.com/szX3KadJTh
— Ishan Kishan (@ishankishan51) March 23, 2025
“Let’s get rid of all the negative thoughts and just think about what’s ahead. Like the IPL is coming up, and you will face some good bowlers. I was just doing my hard work and it was more about my family and the fans who are here supporting me today.”
He would indeed blow a kiss to his loved ones in the stands, to thank them for standing by him in tough times.
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However, as is the case with all players of his ilk, every day won’t be a Sunday. On such occasions when his approach doesn’t come off, the team environment needs to provide the freedom for him to stay true to his strengths.
Ishan would recall how he called Abhishek after being acquired by SRH and asked if the expectation from him would be to hit every ball for a six.
Abhishek would respond with a straight “yeah, that is your job. You come here and you hit each and every ball. You just enjoy this team and that is the best part.”
That freedom has already made Ishan comfortable in his new team.
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“(Skipper) Pat (Cummins) keeps it very simple. If the player likes to go on the attack from the beginning, he just backs him. If you get out trying to hit, it doesn’t put you under any pressure in this team. That is the best part I feel for any youngster. When you get that sort of confidence from the captain and the coaching staff, it makes a huge difference,” Kishan would say.
It might be the first game of the season, but already Ishan and Sunrisers Hyderabad seem to be a potentially fruitful partnership.
