Ishan Kishan's comeback mantra: Enjoy cricket, focus on basics for T20 World Cup

The wicketkeeper-batter bounced back in style in the recently concluded second T20I against New Zealand in Raipur and notched up a brilliant 32-ball 76 during India's chase of 209 runs as the hosts reached the target in less than 16 overs and clinched a seven-wicket victory.

"I was just hoping to just go in, be calm and watch each and every ball and just play the cricketing shots which are required at that point of time," Kishan said ahead of the third T20I when asked to describe his innings from the previous game.

Chasing what looked like a tough target, India lost two early wickets as openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson were sent back to the dugout in no time, leading to Kishan and skipper Suryakumar Yadav walking onto the crease and taking charge earlier than expected. Asked what was his thought process seeing the scoreboard at 6/2, he said, "When you are chasing a total like 209, it's very important to get as many runs as you can in the powerplay. But at the same point, my thinking was, let's not think of losing my wicket by playing shots, but at the same time, I can play some good shots. And I felt, for left-hand batsmen, it was much easier to play in the middle, the way they were bowling. So I thought of just getting in that zone and getting as many runs as possible."

The 27-year-old had to wait for a long time before earning a comeback call-up from the Indian side. He put in tremendous effort for his state team, Jharkhand, in the 71 matches he played domestically, including leading the side to a title win at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year. His hard work was recognised when he was called back to the team for the ongoing New Zealand series and the home T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7.

"I just had one question, if I can do this again or not. If I do it again, that will give me much more confidence for myself. I just need to enjoy each and every time because, sometimes it's hard to be in the present moment, but at the same time, it matters the most when you are in the present and you just take one day at a time or one game at a time. And you just try and put up a good show. So that was the whole point of me just enjoying cricket and getting back to the basics, taking a step back and just focusing on what's important for me," Kishan said when asked what went through his mind when he took on New Zealand.

Talking about his feelings during his recall and whether he experienced pressure before his comeback, Kishan stated, "After looking at everything, after going through everything, I think there's not much change I get. I don't get much happy. I don't get more sad. So it's just that I'm in the present and you know, important thing is World Cup is ahead and what we need to do in the World Cup is more important. So I was just thinking about how we are going to win this trophy and what else we need to improve in ourselves."

- IANS