Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday said Ishan Kishan’s apparent weakness against short deliveries is not a good sign and the Mumbai Indians batsman will be in trouble on bouncy tracks in Australia and South Africa.
Gavaskar’s remarks came after Dushmantha Chamira hit Ishaan on the helmet in the second over of Mumbai Indians’ failed target of 169 against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in Match 37 of IPL 2022.
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Ishaan takes his eyes off the emerging ball and hits the helmet. The MI opener needed attention from the physio before resuming his innings. However, it was a struggle for the young wicketkeeper-batsman as he could manage just 8 runs in 20 balls, putting pressure on his opening partner and captain Rohit Sharma, who scored 39 off 31 balls.
Ishaan struggled to find any sort of rhythm before Ravi Bishnoi was strangely dismissed. The Mi Star got an inside edge when he tried to flat out a googly from Bishnoi. At first slip, the ball hit Quinton de Kock’s boot before going straight into the hands of Jason Holder. Ishaan started walking before the umpire got out.
“He left. He had a pathetic time. He just wanted to get out of the misery. Normally, when the ball is sidelined and caught at first slip, they still wait. A man here Even when the ball might have hit the turf, he wasn’t interested. He started running until the umpire told him ‘Wait, wait, let’s get a referral.’ It’s just the mental state he was in,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
not good sign
Commenting on Ishaan’s problems with bouncers, he said: “I think he was rattled by that blow. Don’t forget, in the past, he was hit on the helmet. It’s not really a good sign because its Which means, in places like Australia and South Africa where there’s extra buoyancy, it’s going to be like a rabbit stuck in the headlights.
“Every fast bowler is going to cut it short, no one is going to pitch it where he likes, nothing below the waist is going to happen. Anything above the waist, he is struggling at the moment.”
Notably, Ishaan was taken to the hospital earlier this year during a T20I match against Sri Lanka when a bouncer from Lahiru Kumara hit him on the helmet.
The 23-year-old started well in IPL 2022, scoring two consecutive fifties but has struggled since then, failing to live up to the hefty price tag of Rs 15.25 crore. Kishan has registered scores of 14, 26, 3, 13, 0, 8 since a strong start as MI are out of action this season after playing 8 matches.