"When he was playing for MI, he was probably overshadowed" - Sanjay Bangar's big claim on SRH batter

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar thinks wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was possibly overshadowed by other players Mumbai Indians (MI). Kishan was released by his previous Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise ahead of last year's mega auction.

Bangar felt that Kishan's move to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) may have helped him clear doubts in his mind. He admitted that he was impressed by his approach in his side's opening IPL 2025 game.

"When he was playing for MI, he was probably overshadowed a little bit by the likes of the other luminaries in the team, maybe a Rohit or a Sky or Hardik and Jasprit,” Bangar said on JioHotstar.

“Ishan has been doing really well when he was left out of the squad and he was out of favour for some amount of time. But what I liked about his approach was that, he seems to have cleared all the doubts that were there in his mind earlier times," he added.

Bangar believes that Kishan will have the freedom and space at SRH that he didn't have in Mumbai. He opined that playing for the 2016 IPL champions presents him with a "huge opportunity" to make his mark.

“But here he is, he can be his own man and he has the space. Because, if you look at that particular team, the kind of characters that are there, maybe Abhishek, and Travis Head and Klaasen. So it's a huge opportunity, he has taken it really well, fabulous knock," Bangar concluded.

Ishan Kishan's Player of the Match performance helps SRH start IPL 2025 on winning note

Coming out to bat at number three on Sunday, March 23, in his side's tournament opener against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kishan smashed an unbeaten 47-ball 106. This was his maiden IPL hundred, which propelled SRH to a score of 286 for six in 20 overs.

Reflecting on his batting exploits after the match, the southpaw complimented the environment in the SRH group. He said that head coach Daniel Vettori and captain Pat Cummins had kept things simple, and there was no pressure if a batter got out cheaply while trying to hit the ball.

Ishan Kishan was brought by the franchise for Rs 15.25 crore at the mega auction in November 2024. After his innings on Sunday, he revealed calling Abhishek Sharma to enquire if he needed to hit each and every ball at SRH.

SRH next take on Lucknow Super Giants in their second match of the tournament in Hyderabad on Thursday, March 27.