Gujarat Titans’ Sai Kishore during practice. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: At 6-foot-5, R. Sai Kishore brings a unique trajectory and relentless accuracy to the crease. After a stellar IPL-2025 campaign where he picked up 19 wickets in 15 matches for Gujarat Titans, the Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner finds himself waiting for an opportunity in the early stages of IPL-2026.Despite missing the playing XI so far this season, the 29-year-old remains remarkably down to earth, putting franchise goals ahead of personal ambitions.
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Matthew Hayden reacts after Gujarat Titans’ defeat against Mumbai IndiansGo Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!“Cricket is not an individual sport, it is a team sport,” Sai Kishore told TOI in an exclusive interview with Gujarat Titans on Tuesday. “So at the end of the day you celebrate when you win the trophy, you celebrate when you win the IPL. So the team always comes first in all decisions. And I myself as a leader should understand that more than anyone else. Even if you are disappointed that you are not in the playing XI right now, you should remember that the team comes first and whenever the playing conditions are right.”With 32 IPL wickets under his belt, Sai Kishore knows that the T20 game is heavily dictated by the conditions. Flat surfaces have always favored the batsmen at the start of the tournament and continue to do so in IPL-2026, but the veteran spinner expects a shift.“IPL is a very dynamic tournament. How the tournament is developing, how the wickets are playing are all decisive factors for the right combinations,” he said. “The team always comes first and whenever the wickets start to deteriorate when it’s hot, slowly but surely the spinners come in. Not just for Gujarat Titans but in the whole tournament. You see a lot of spinners haven’t been able to change the game so far. It’s mainly bats-friendly now.”For a spinner, maintaining control on the flat tracks that are deployed in the IPL requires a delicate balance between containing runs and chasing wickets. The “role clarity” of this franchise certainly makes this tightrope walk a lot easier.“My role has been clearly mentioned and that is to provide control to the captain,” said Sai Kishore. “It’s easy for any player to play their best when the role is mentioned.”When it comes to making that control, he relies on dynamic readings of the game rather than sticking to a rigid script. “It depends a lot on player to player, situation to situation. In what situation, what are you trying to do. Let’s say if a batsman is very settled, you want to take him off the bat, be more defensive about him. Someone is new at the crease, you try to get his wicket. It’s all about your decision making skills at that moment, on that day, in such an easy way when you have a wicket. to attack and when to defend.” he said.At a time when T20 cricket is heavily influenced by analytics and head-to-head matches, Sai Kishore, who previously led Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, believes numbers only tell half the story.“No matter what data you follow, your instincts always come first,” he said. “Because you do what you feel in that moment. Data is important, knowing the game is important, but at the same time trusting your instincts and your inner voice is what this game is about.”Sai Kishore has already tasted international success, making his T20I debut during India’s gold medal run at the 2023 Asian Games, famously taking 3/12 against Bangladesh in the semi-final. However, he failed to break into the Indian team again in any format. Rather than obsessing over a national calling, his philosophy revolves around self-improvement and “absolute” preparation.“To be relevant as a spinner, especially in India, you have to be able to hold your own in all three aspects of the game. You have to be a brilliant fielder, you have to be able to work well with the bat, which is not an easy task. So in wanting to play for the country, you naturally improve to be a better cricketer.”“I feel like I have to make my garden very beautiful. I have to keep working on my game and be ready with the skill sets. And whenever the chance comes … more often than not, when you’re absolutely ready, the opportunity will come. I think it will happen by itself,” he said.“Until then, I want to enjoy my game. I want to be very happy mentally, skill-wise, emotionally, physically and in general.”
