Ishan Kishan: Mahela would ring me up at 1AM to check if I was awake

Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Ishan Kishan has lauded head coach Mahela Jayawardene for helping him improve his batting. From 2018 to 2021, the left-handed Kishan plied his trade for the Mumbai-based franchise and earned INR 6.20 crores per year. However, the five-time IPL champions released him before the 2022 mega auction, held on February 12 […]
 
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Ishan Kishan: Mahela would ring me up at 1AM to check if I was awake

Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Ishan Kishan has lauded head coach Mahela Jayawardene for helping him improve his batting. From 2018 to 2021, the left-handed Kishan plied his trade for the Mumbai-based franchise and earned INR 6.20 crores per year. However, the five-time IPL champions released him before the 2022 mega auction, held on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru.

Thereafter, MI went hammer and tongs to buy back the southpaw and roped him in at a staggering price of INR 15.25 crores. The 23-year-old Kishan, who made his debut in 2016 for the now defunct Gujarat Lions, said that Jayawardene supported his natural instinct of going for shots, but also asked him to stay focused.

Kishan also praised Jayawardene for bringing in a lot of calmness in the MI dugout. The Patna-born Kishan made the revelations during an exclusive interview with The Times of India (TOI).

He has been a very calming influence: Ishan Kishan

Mahela has helped me a lot with my batting. I love hitting sixes, it comes naturally. So, that’s what I would do every time I hit the nets – pick on a spinner. Mahela sir has worked on me a lot. As soon as he would see me getting any bit casual, he’d quietly come over to where I was batting and tell me, ‘Boy, you have to focus. There’s a match coming’,” Ishan Kishan said.

“He has always been around and has been a very calming influence. When he came to know I was sleeping very late, not on time, sometimes he’d call at 1 am in the morning to check. And if I picked the phone, he’d be like ‘oh, so you haven’t slept yet?’ And I’d sheepishly reply: ‘I was just going to’,” he added.

Ishan Kishan: Mahela would ring me up at 1AM to check if I was awake

After a stellar outing back in 2020, Kishan made his debut during India’s home T20Is against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Thereafter, in July, he donned the India ODI colours during the tour of Sri Lanka.

He was recently a part of the three-match T20I series against the West Indies that India 0-3. Ishan Kishan also played one game against New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.