Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan reflected on learning from past mistakes and prioritizing the team’s needs over personal instincts after his assured 125 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy here on Wednesday. His unbeaten knock guided his team to safety after the loss of quick wickets.
“I think the situation did not demand (playing shots). It comes with experience. When you play enough matches, you understand that sometimes singles are more important than sixes. Over a period of time, your mindset changes.
“When you grow up, you make so many mistakes initially in your career. And then, later, you realise the real meaning of experience. You have to be in the middle, then only you can change the game.
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“I was checking the wind in the middle when the left-arm spinner (D.T. Chandrasekar) was bowling. I really wanted to go hard on him. But again, I was just looking at the scoreboard and those six wickets down did not feel right for me (Jharkhand finished the day on 307 for six from 157 for six). You know, one mistake…
“I just played an Irani Cup match and I think I made the same mistake there. I could have batted till the end and we could have been on the winning side. So, I did not want to repeat that mistake here in the Ranji Trophy, where your team needs you the most because you are the most experienced player. You are the one who has played for India and played enough cricket. So, it was my job. You have to keep on batting. You have to get your team out of a bad situation,” he said.
On his India comeback amidst heavy competition and the importance of this Ranji season for it, he said: “Maturity is when you understand that wherever you are is the most important place. These matches will only help me get to the Indian team.
“My mindset was pretty different two years ago. But right now, I feel at this stage, you need to be very smart of what you are doing. You need to understand the importance of Ranji Trophy. You need to understand the importance of these matches when you play against big teams.”
The 27-year-old said that as a leader, he wants to lead his team “into the big stages of the Ranji Trophy, rather than just playing the league matches.”
“Let’s hope that I keep on batting like this and our team does something really special this season,” he added.
Published on Oct 15, 2025
