Captaincy has helped me become a better batter: Kishan

One of the hardest tasks for an international cricketer is how they respond to being dropped from the national squad and fight their way back. And over the last year, Ishan Kishan has shown the way to do it.

“Sometimes, when we play regularly for the Indian team, you just keep playing in a flow. You may be a very good player, which is why you’re playing for India, but your growth stagnates at a certain point. When you take one step back and go back to domestic cricket, you start from zero again,” said Kishan after smashing 270 for East Zone against South in the Duleep Trophy final here on Monday.

“You start thinking, ‘I need to get even better,’ because today, there are so many players scoring runs. To get back into the team, your only option is to perform much better than them. You get time to reflect on what you missed earlier, why you couldn’t convert your starts into big scores. I mean, the batting doesn’t change that much; it’s just the mindset that changes over time.”

Last year, Kishan led Jharkhand to a convincing Syed Mushtaq Ali title triumph without losing a game and felt that captaincy has helped him become a better batter.

“I think when you are the captain of the team, the first thing is situational awareness — you have to stay alert the entire day on the field to understand what is happening and what isn’t,” added the 28-year-old.

“You have to take care of all your teammates. There are so many small things we often overlook in our daily routines—like just showing up, batting in the nets, and leaving. You don’t look at your players or try to help them figure out how they can get better. But when you are the captain, it becomes your duty to help them, because if your teammates are improving, ultimately you will achieve the team’s goals.”

“Going through this whole process leads to immense personal growth, and while you might not realise it immediately, your mindset shifts completely, and you become much calmer about things,” said Kishan.