Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has made a big name for himself despite playing a limited number of matches for Team India till date. The 24-year-old left-handed wicketkeeper-batter created history against Bangladesh in Chattogram on December 10, 2022, when during the third ODI of a three-match series, he became the fastest batter to score a double century in ODIs. He faced a total of 131 balls to score 210 runs. Ishan has been a key member for India in white-ball cricket, and recently he earned his maiden Test call-up as well for the upcoming home series against Australia.
He is likely to make his debut for India in the longest format of the game in Rishabh Pant’s absence. But before playing against Australia, Ishan will feature for India in a three-match T20I series against New Zealand, the first match of which will take place in Ranchi on Friday (January 27). Ishan, the former India U-19 captain, will play in front of his home crowd in Ranchi. He last played in Ranchi on October 9, 2022, against South Africa, during the second ODI. In that match, he scored 93 runs from 84 balls.
Ishan would like to make big runs again in Ranchi and entertain the local fans who have seen him play at the venue during domestic matches. In a video posted by the BCCI’s official Twitter handle ahead of the series opener against New Zealand, Ishan spoke about many previously unheard topics. The wicketkeeper-batter also opened up about one of his most memorable moments, and surprisingly, it wasn’t his double century but MS Dhoni’s autograph that he took when he first met him at the age of 18.
“The one time I asked for an autograph was from MS Dhoni. When I was 18 years old and I finally saw him for the first time. It was a very memorable moment for me, and it still is. And I am proud to have his autograph on my bat,” he said.
According to Ishan, Dhoni has been his role model since childhood because they are both from the same place and are wicketkeeper-batsmen, and he would like to fill his shoes.
“My cricketing idol while growing up was MS Dhoni, who came from the same place and also played for Jharkhand, so I really wanted to fill his shoes, and now that I am here, I will make sure that I make my team win so many other games,” he added.
