Ishan Kishan has now become a household name. The left-hander who made his India debut last year was recently rebought for 15.25 crore at the mega-auction by Mumbai Indians.
As a 19-year-old, Kishan was first signed by MI in 2018 and enjoyed the next four seasons, winning two titles – in 2019 and 2020 – with the franchise; his success with the bat led to a national call-up. His immense talent and a bright future forced MI to buy him back for such a huge amount.
The left-hander recently recalled his first season with MI. Kishan had had discipline issues then and was closely monitored by the franchise, especially since he was just a teenager then.
He remembered that Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, the two senior members of the MI side then, became close to him and often interacted with him, giving advice and suggestions for both his personal and professional life. He vividly remembered that Hardik motivated him to work on his form and fitness to play in MI’s eleven.
“I was with Hardik bhai and others all the time during the IPL and I see their work ethic as to how he is taking care of himself. They would sit me down and explain things to me for 30 minutes – what’s important, what is not and what I am doing wrong. Hardik bhai’s reputation… I mean all the seniors in the team would sit together. But I was the young one who was still finding his way,” Kishan told host Gaurav Kapur on his YouTube Show, ‘Breakfast with Champions’.
“Hardik bhai was always like ‘You leave him to me’. And he actually told me also that until you improve, we can’t give you a match’. I also felt then that what they’re saying is for my own benefit,” he added.
Hardik’s elder brother, Krunal, also had a key role in Ishan’s progress at MI.
“Krunal Pandya too tracked the youngster’s progress every now and then. “Even Krunal (Pandya) bhai, he also is like ‘I’ll meet you after 3-4 months. And then when we meet, we will track each other’s progress – as a human being, player – everything together. We keep challenging each other,” the wicket-keeper said.
While now Ishan Kishan is back at MI, the Pandya brothers are at different teams; Hardik was signed as the captain of Gujarat Titans while Krunal was roped in by Lucknow Super Giants.
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