The curious case of Ishan Kishan: A bump in the road or a downfall triggered by complacency?

A spring in his step, a dalliance with the crease and a bat swing that can put golfers to shame, are the attributes that make Ishan Kishan a prospect that you can't take your eye off. Lately, however, the wicketkeeper-batsman has been a cat on a hot tin roof. The flashy fearless style has been replaced by a fidgety one.

Kishan's key lies in his start, so much so that the fate of his innings can be determined from the way he plays fresh into the crease. That has been evident over the course of his career, at least recently. His maiden set of appearances for Team India turned poles apart. He came out with his branded fearless persona to get off to a bright start and he duly pushed it for a fifty. In the very next fixture, he was pressed right from the start and he only managed 4 off 9 deliveries. In short, it is all or nothing, when it comes to Ishan Kishan.

Originally an opener right from his youth cricket days, he is currently battling a slew of competition in the middle order to seal a place in the Indian squad. With the line for openers not set to be short for the foreseeable future, an association with the middle order could be inscribed into his fate, very much like KL Rahul, who had to win the battles to win back his spot.

Is Ishan Kishan a flat-track bully?

With scores of 9, 11 and 14 in the second leg of the IPL, Ishan Kishan is truly tangled in a web in the UAE. Emerging as Mumbai Indians' (MI) leading run-scorer in their title-winning campaign and doing an impeccable job at both the top and middle order for the franchise, one cannot help but wonder what has gone so wrong, despite the understandable fact that it has been over a year since the last edition.

The pivotal change that is for everyone to see is the slow nature of the pitches this time around. But even if Kishan's form in the UAE leg is taken away from context, his scores in the first leg do not help his case, and once again, it is the slow pitches that stand out.

Kishan's aversion to slow and sluggish surfaces is not an issue that has been a recent revelation. It was on display right from his very first major assignment, the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. Leading the side, he struggled on the pitches in Bangladesh with a sole fifty against Nepal Under-19 standing out among a plethora of low scores across the campaign.

While all batsmen suffer on surfaces that are not suited to them, such a stark difference in quality and the ensuing output is a cause for concern that might need rectifying.

Kishan's current state resembles the struggles he has endured in his poor IPL campaigns. A poor strike rate is attached to each one of his lackluster campaigns, especially the one in 2019 and the current one, and that may be the key he needs to unlock.

Struggling in the 2018 season, Kishan shattered all inhibitions to play a 22-ball 62 knock, which proved to be a game changer, perhaps a knock from the word go is all he needs to get back into rhythm.

Is complacency a valid variable?

Every player dreams of representing his country in a major tournament. Once that dream inches closer to reality, it might be natural to be caught in the moment, become a tad too relaxed or even lose focus on the task at hand.

A trend which has arisen and seems to have caught Kishan as well is perhaps the complacency factor. While a number of factors could be responsible being poor from, this poses as an either/and issue between technique and mentality. Even if the technique is addressed, would it guarantee success? Given the current circumstances where the teams for the T20 World Cup were declared before the IPL itself.

With Mumbai Indians embroiled in a perilous situation which can only be resolved by hunger for success, the timing would be right to eliminate any remainder of complacency which might have set in. The prospect of teams being able to introduce changes to the T20 World Cup squad could also drive the players to do better and prove they are worthy of the same.

A visibly distraught Kishan was also seen having a talk with Virat Kohli, and a pep talk from the captain himself might just be what he needs to get back into the run-scoring charts. He also has the full backing of his franchise skipper Rohit Sharma as well, which makes up all the ingredients ready for perhaps a clinic by Kishan.