Former Indian batter and commentator, Gautam Gambhir, heaped praise on Ishan Kishan after the young opener played a stunning knock in the first T20I of the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday (June 9).
Ishan smashed 11 fours and 3 sixes in his 76 off 48 balls to help Team India post 211 on the board against South Africa. However, the touring side chased down the total in 19.1 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against India.
However, Gambhir was really impressed with Ishan’s entertaining innings and called him a dangerous batter. He also stated that such performances are the reason the Mumbai Indians paid a high price (INR 15.5 crores) for the young batter at the IPL 2022 auction.
Gambhir said on Star Sports after the match, “He is that type of a batter as well. He is dangerous and this was probably the reason why Mumbai Indians bought him at such a huge price at the auction. From this, you come to know that you have come after playing 14 consecutive T20 matches to a small ground with a good pitch and a fast outfield and the way Ishan Kishan batted.”
Explain why Ishan’s batting is selfless, Gambhir noted: “The best thing that was seen in Ishan was that if probably there was some other player, when he had gotten an over with 20 runs, he might have thought of taking a single and then taking chances in the next over. But he wanted to convert that 20 runs to 26 runs. This is the batting you want to see in T20 cricket, you call this selfless batting.”
Meanwhile, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also lauded Ishan and said that he can end India's search for a left-handed batter at the top of the order in the limited-overs cricket.
Bangar said, “It is the biggest positive because the way the T20 game is evolving, you want a right-left combination always. If you have very high-quality right-handers, then it is a different thing but the Indian team is searching for that player after Shikhar Dhawan's departure.”
(With Star Sports Inputs)
