Ishan Kishan said one cannot control social media.
India and Mumbai Indians (MI) cricketer Ishan Kishan talked about negativity on social media and explained his perception using Hardik Pandya’s example. He asserted that people should not make a fuss as several players get unnecessary online hate.
Ishan Kishan himself was on the receiving end of online hatred from fans after he refused to play domestic cricket while on a mental health break earlier this year. This was despite BCCI and Indian team management asking him to do so.
As a result, he lost his BCCI central contract, after he made his cricketing return in a T20 tournament just before the IPL 2024. The wicketkeeper batter talked about social media, saying it has pros and cons and suggesting that negativity turns into praise when the player starts performing well.
"I feel negativity will be there on social media. People will troll you if you don't do well and that is very normal. I feel every sportsperson should accept that this is going to happen and you shouldn't make a huge fuss about it. I feel you should enjoy that also because at the end of the day, you know what when you perform then the same set of people will praise you also," Kishan told Times of India.
Kishan talked about Hardik Pandya being trolled severely online after he replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain in IPL 2024. Rohit, who won the IPL five times as MI captain, was discarded with Pandya taking over.
Pandya was not accepted as captain of MI by fans of the franchise and he was severely booed and jeered wherever MI played in IPL 2024, even in Mumbai, their home ground. MI finished 10th on the points table winning only 4 matches.
"That happened with Hardik also. People were trolling him also but he just did his work, performed well in the World Cup and now you can see the result. So this is how it should be... negativity will be there but you have to find that neutral point so that you take everything in a very sporting way," he added.
The same people who had jeered Pandya during IPL 2024, cheered for him as he played an important role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win.
Kishan further added he also advises young cricketers to not take social media seriously and try to be away from it.
"You can't control social media. Jo bhi chalega... it's okay. I feel you don't have to get too much into this social media also. When I speak to younger guys who are getting into big teams, I tell them the same thing to please try and be away from social media," he concluded.