Here is the full transcript of India’s Ishan Kishan’s press conference after their February 12 match against Namibia.
(Reporter:)
I just wanted to know that when I faced Gehrard Erasmus, the Namibian captain, who bowled with a sidearm. Do you think this would be a good preparation before facing Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq? Would this be good preparation for a match?
(Ishan Kishan:)
No, I think the preparation part is over and now it’s just time to watch the ball and play our natural game. So if the ball is there as a batsman we are raring to go because it is a T20 game. And we try to set a good total on board. But we must also believe in our strength. You don’t have to prepare anything like that. I think at this level we will watch a couple of videos and get an idea of what kind of bowling is going to happen. So we keep it simple. Yeah, he bowled pretty well today and I think we learned a lot for our team today as well.
(Reporter:)
Was there any cautious approach in the first four overs? Because you started hitting from the fifth over. Yeah. Wasn’t it a cautious approach not to hit a six?
(Ishan Kishan:)
I think before we thought it was going to be a pretty flat wicket. But when we started batting, the ball held a bit and we just felt it was not that easy to go for sixes and boundaries. So instead of losing a wicket on a bad shot, we took our time because at the end of the day we had the idea that after that we can also go for big overs so we don’t have to rush it. But at the same time we were looking for bad balls but because – I would say the goal wasn’t that easy to be very honest, we were just taking our time in the middle.
(Reporter:)
Giving Ishan 50 is always good, especially when you win, but coming into the match ahead of the big clash with Pakistan, does it give you more confidence?
(Ishan Kishan:)
100% runs is always a good thing for batsmen and we did well in the previous series when we played against New Zealand. So in all the games we played, there was a lot of learning, a lot of confidence that we got from those games. But the clash against Pakistan would of course be special for anyone. So we don’t just think so much about the future game. But yeah, once we get there we look at the wicket and we have an idea of what the game is going to be and what the good total is going to be and we play accordingly.
(Reporter:)
Ishan, we saw that you gave a pep talk to the team today and you were quite animated. Are you back in the kind of space you were when things went south for you? You are very mature now, but mentally are you the relaxed version you used to be, and how much of a role did playing such consistent cricket for Jharkhand play in that? Just talk to us.
(Ishan Kishan:)
No, I think I’m a changed man now to be honest. I don’t really get into it, but I enjoy the jokes and everything. I do but I used to do it 24×7 but now it’s only 2-3 hours. So I’m more focused on batting and keeping wickets, which will help the team and which will help me. Everything is secondary so I don’t always joke but especially under Gauti Bhai.
(Reporter:)
When a spinner tries different things at Erasmus, whether it’s bowling with a looped arm or from behind the crease, how does that put you off at all as a batsman or how much does it play with the bat in a format like T20?
(Ishan Kishan:)
Yeah, it can play in your head for a few balls, but I think at this level you have to have confidence in your own abilities as well. Even if he is trying for something, we can go for sixes or boundaries at the same time. How we think when the pitcher is trying to do something else is so important. But if we just look for boundaries and sixes and believe in our own strength I think it helps the batsmen more so we try to keep it simple, yes some batsmen can score on some shots but it’s part of the game and you’re always learning game by game so it still helps.
(Reporter:)
If you are talking about your own bat, what has changed in the last two years? People see you go over 200 But is it all about carefree batting, just going for help for the leather or is it something else, isn’t it just a slap?
(Ishan Kishan:)
No, I also take singles and defend good balls. But I don’t know if I did a huge amount of hard work or something, I just kept it simple rather than rushing the overs or getting excited and playing those shots. I just try to be calm on the field and I just try to watch the ball and play the shots that I’ve already had, but sometimes you get excited and play those shots when you’re playing international cricket. So I just try to carve out those moments in my life and just try to play my own shots that I’m good at and that’s on that particular wicket. So I don’t do that much and I don’t think that much about batting or extra practice but yeah I just try to guard the ball and be calm in the wicket, two three dot balls, it shouldn’t make a difference either because I think the batsmen in our team had the power, they all had the ability to hit at any time so it’s just a matter of two balls. And it is also important for us to understand this. Like two balls, when you get two sixes, it’s all covered. So we have to wait a while before just throwing the wicket.
(Reporter:)
Two matches, two wins, three different kinds of half-centuries, but also three collapses and two innings at different stages. How do you rate the team’s batting in these two matches?
(Ishan Kishan:)
I think they batted pretty well. In both goals, I feel like it was a little bit different than we expected. And today, if we look at the death overs where we weren’t able to hit the big sixes regularly, I think we have to credit the Namibian bowlers as well because they were beaten by their yorkers, they were beaten by their slow ones. So yeah, it was a good learning, maybe if some other team is doing the same thing, maybe we can use the crease more or we can do something else that can irritate the bowlers. So it was a good learning in this game and I especially think it wasn’t about our batsmen not being able to hit sixes but more of them bowling very well in the death overs.
(Reporter:)
You said earlier that you didn’t bat every ball in the power play, which is true. But at the same time, India scored 85, their third highest in the power play. And obviously the power-play score is very integral to this kind of tournament where you see a collapse later on in the middle overs, the power-play score gets leveled. Do you agree that setting this tone is not only an important thing, but that it is also important to reach a very laudable goal?
(Ishan Kishan:)
Yeah, I think we’re all in good touch and we’re all trying to use the power play as much as we can. And we pick the pitchers. It’s not like — especially like the first over, if you see what Trumpleman was, he bowled a couple of balls pretty well, so we didn’t deal with that because we knew later on, once the ball stops swinging, we can go for another 10 runs, instead of scoring 15, we can go for 24 or something. So that was the plan and I think the situations from game to game will vary. Today was different, tomorrow when we play against Pakistan, it can be different. So we need to assess as soon as possible, know more about the wicket, know about their bowling strength, who will bowl when and who we can take on. If I am required to take a liberty and give a strike to someone else, I will do that too. So it’s important to be aware of the game situation and I feel if you have a good start in the power play you should always try and maybe one batsman can go for sixes at any time. But I think the first three batters hit should hit long. And we do it pretty consistently. And now it’s just time for us to be in a good headspace and be calm about the situation. Even if the over doesn’t go our way, we just try to look at the situation, look at the bowler who we can charge and who we can just try to turn the strike.