Ishan Kishan Doubtful For 5th T20I? India's Batting Coach Shares Big Update

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan scored 76 runs from 32 balls in the second T20I against New Zealand and played a knock of 28 runs from just 13 balls in the third match. But he missed the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam on January 28 due to a niggle. In his absence, after losing Abhishek Sharma on the first ball of the 216-run chase, India failed to put New Zealand under pressure and went on to lose the match by 50 runs. Ishan was a big miss for India in the fourth T20I, and ahead of the fifth and final match of the ongoing series, India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, has shared a positive about the 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter.

Kotak has hinted at Ishan’s participation in the fifth T20I match, which will be played on Saturday (January 31)

at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. According to Kotak, Ishan is likely to feature, but a final decision on his participation will be taken by the team’s physiotherapists, who will assess his fitness before confirming the availability.

The Indian batting coach was full of praise for Kishan, who earned his place in the Indian team after more than two years.

“Ishan Kishan has always been good whenever he got an opportunity. Sometimes wicketkeeper batters don’t get opportunities. But whenever Ishan has played, he has always done well. The way he played two innings was really encouraging because in powerplay, you are looking for someone to play the way he played,” Kotak said in the pre-match press conference.

“And very likely (he will play), at the moment, as far as I know. The physio is here for practice. So, physios will take a call. But I feel very likely,” he added.

During the presser, Kotak was also asked about India’s aggressive batting approach in the ongoing series, and he said that the presence of players like Abhishek Sharma, Ishan and Suryakumar Yadav has helped the team to follow an aggressive batting line.

“Some of the players are aggressive, and what we plan… we go sorting through that, and depending on wickets in hand and the situation, and whether we are chasing or posting, it will help us.”

“But fortunately we have players who can play very aggressively, and there have been such good players in India as well, so that’s a great thing,” he added.