Ishan Kishan 2.0: Finding better self than worrying about Twenty20 World Cup place

Ishan Kishan 2.0 focuses on self-improvement and helping Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, prioritizing over India's T20 World Cup.

Meet Ishan Kishan 2.0. For this version of the wicketkeeper batter, improving himself as an individual and helping Mumbai Indians go forward in the IPL 2024 matter more than overreaching himself for a berth in India's T20 World Cup squad.

Kishan used his marauding 34-ball 69 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as a pointer to his newfound mindset, which the left-hander acquired during his recent break time from cricket.

“About the World Cup, it is not in my hands and I am taking things very easy right now. You have to take one match at a time. One needs to understand that a lot is not in the hands of the players,” said Kishan in the post-match press meet.

“It’s (IPL) a very big tournament and you do not want to overstep. I am just taking one game at a time and however I can help the team, (my motto is) let’s do it,” he added.

Kishan, whose last appearance for India was in November 2023 during the T20I series against Australia, has been in the centre of a controversy after he requested a break during India's tour of South Africa in December.

The 25-year-old was not considered for any of the subsequent national assignments, and India head coach Rahul Dravid had underscored the need for Kishan to play domestic cricket to make his comeback.

Along with Shreyas Iyer, Kishan was also not considered for the BCCI central contract for the period between October 2023 to September 2024 as the board took a serious exception to him missing domestic cricket.