Jharkhand’s batting sensation Ishan Kishan was knocking on the doors of the Indian selectors over the past couple of years and the terrific hitter has finally got his chance as the young wicketkeeper-batsman was named in India's squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England.
The Patna-born southpaw had a memorable weekend as Jharkhand skipper played a mind-blowing and record knock of 173 runs off just 94 balls to power his team to record 422/9 against Madhya Pradesh in the ongoing Vijay Hazare in Indore on Saturday, and on the evening, the pocket dynamite received his maiden Team India call-up for the home T20I series against England.
The 22-year-old waited long for India selection despite being a consistent performer in the domestic cricket and Indian Premier League (IPL) – where he scored 516 runs in 14 matches to finish as the tournament’s fifth and Mumbai Indians' highest run-scorer last season in the UAE.
Following the maiden India call-up, Ishan’s elder brother Raj said he and his parents could not believe the news and they had to just double-check with the BCCI website to check whether Ishan was selected.
He further revealed that his family found it hard to talk for nearly four hours when the left-hander called up to inform about his India selection for home T20Is against England, as the emotions were overflowing and tears of happiness were rolling down their eyes while talking the youngster.
Ishan’s brother Raj told India Today, “Felt really, really nice. We could not believe the news for a long time; we personally confirmed it on the BCCI site The emotions were so high that we were finding it hard to express ourselves.
My mother and father are in Patna and I am in Nawada right now. There were tears of happiness. Ishan called us and we started crying, only after 4 hours, we could talk normally. We started crying as soon as he called us.”
He further added, “Ishan was very happy. The wait for the national call-up was getting longer and he was frustrated as well. He was expecting to be picked in the Test squad also. As a big brother, I will like to see him make his debut for India in all the formats, I want to see him win matches for India. I am also hoping to see his name in the T20 World Cup squad.”
Notably, Raj Kishan, who is now a doctor, had himself played cricket till the 10th standard, but he had to leave the game and focus on becoming a doctor to secure his middle-class family's future.
He signed off by saying, “I played cricket till the 10th standard. We are a middle-class family and it was decided that only one of us can look for a career in cricket. Ishan did not at all like studying, so one of us had to study. Our grandmother is a doctor and so someone from the family had to opt for a career in the medical field.”
Meanwhile, Ishan’s childhood friend Rohit Kumar Singh was delighted with the latter’s India selection while saying they wish to see him grow in stature like legendary MS Dhoni.
He signed off by saying, “I can tell you that with his dream come true moment, it's like our dream got fulfilled and now ye dil mange Ishan to perform under the guidance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and seal the place for all formats of the Indian Side and rise like MSD (Dhoni).”
