Ishan Kishan reveals how Rishabh Pant’s advice helped him in scoring his maiden test fifty.

India’s wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan, who was waiting eagerly for his test debut since his selection in the Indian test team, finally proved that he has the caliber to hit runs in test matches. The left-hander smashed his maiden test fifty in his second test match, scoring 52 runs off 34 balls with 4 boundaries and 2 sixes before India declared their innings on 181 runs on Day 4 of the second test against the West Indies. Earlier, he was also selected for the WTC final 2023, but right-handed wicketkeeper batter Srikar Bharat was given the chance to play in the final, where he didn’t do much with the bat, so this time management handed the cap to Ishan Kishan, and so far he is contributing with the bat and gloves both.

Ishan Kishan, when asked about his feelings on hitting his maiden test fifty, gave credit to Rishabh Pant, as he helped him improve his stance and the position of his bat while batting. Rishabh Pant was a regular appearance for the Indian side in test cricket before the tragic accident he suffered last year in December. Though he is frequently recovering from the injuries he sustained, he would not be seen in the blue jersey in 2023 at least. Rishabh and Ishan were both at NCA, where Indian players were practicing before the West Indies tour, and luckily Rishabh Pant was on rehab there, and he advised Ishan Kishan to slightly change his bat position, which helped him improve his game.

“I was at NCA before coming here. I was practising there and Rishabh was also there for his rehab. He just got a few points for me. He asked me to you know, the bat position and everything because he, had seen me playing with him. We have played together so many matches. We have been together since U-19. So he knows how I play, what my mindset is. So you just help me a little bit with my bat position and everything, so otherwise I think I also wanted someone to tell me a few things about my batting and it was a great time for him to come and chat with me and really thankful for that,” 

Ishan Kishan post-match