“Never once has it crossed my mind that I want his place” - Ishan Kishan open us on his equation with Rishabh Pant

Young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has stated that he has never had thoughts about replacing Rishabh Pant in the Indian team. He described Pant as a very good friend with whom he hangs around a lot, watches movies and discusses cricket.

Following his exploits in international cricket, Pant has become India’s No.1 wicketkeeper-batter across all formats. As such, Kishan has found it difficult to find a regular place in the playing XI in white-ball cricket. He usually gets a chance when Pant has been rested or if there has been an injury in the team.

The 23-year-old, however, asserted that he is not competing with Pant or vice versa. In an interview with TOI, he spoke about his equation with India’s first-choice keeper:

“He's a very good friend. Whenever both of us are around, you'll find us hanging out a lot with each other. We just keep watching movies whenever we find the time. We also talk a lot of cricket with each other - about the game, what could've been done differently. I speak my mind with him, and he does the same.”

He added:

“Never once has it crossed my mind that I want his place and I can assure you, that's been the case with him too. And most importantly, when we are in the middle of our cricket routines, we don't even think we're competing with each other.”

Looking at the positive side of things, the attacking left-hander pointed out that having good competition with talented players is great fun. He elaborated:

“You begin to realise those important things all by yourself -- play good cricket and everything else will take care of itself. I love wicket-keeping so whenever an opportunity comes, I'll try and give it my best.”

With Pant being rested, Kishan could take the gloves for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. India have also picked Sanju Samson as the second wicketkeeper-batter in the squad.

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Ishan Kishan reveals two aspects of his game he is working hard on

While he recently grabbed headlines, becoming the most expensive purchase at the IPL 2022 auction, Kishan did not enjoy a fruitful T20I series against West Indies. He struggled for rhythm, managing only 71 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 85.54.

Asked what areas of his game he is working on, Kishan revealed that he is specifically focusing on a couple of aspects. He explained:

“The pace of the game during the middle-overs. Looking to hit sixes is all fine but how to keep the scoreboard ticking, strike rotating and allow the flow of the game to move without hindrances. Tapping the ball for singles, converting those singles into doubles, confusing the bowler and the field that's been set.”

On the second one, he said that he wants to get rhythm back while playing his cut shot. Kishan added:

“I used to have a very good cut shot. Every time I got that opportunity, it would be a boundary shot. But lately, I realised I need to work on getting that rhythm back. Rohit bhai has also been sharing some small but interesting stuff with me. The other day at the nets, we spoke about how I need to beat the fielder at point, and if I can get that right, there are so many options in that area.”

23-year-old Kishan has so far featured in three ODIs and eight T20Is, scoring 88 and 184 runs respectively.