Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)’s 26-year-old spinner Zeeshan Ansari was seen giving a heated send-off to team captain Ishan Kishan in the franchise’s practice match on Saturday (March 21).
It happened in the
eighth over of the second innings in the practice match. Ansari, the 26-year-old leg-spinner from Uttar Pradesh, was opening his spell when Kishan was batting at 52 (20). Kishan dominated the bowler, hitting him for two sixes and two fours on his first four balls against him.
On the fifth, Ansari outfoxed Kishan with a very full ball. The left-hander couldn’t get under it and ended up slogging the ball to deep square leg’s hands. Ansari was animated and gestured at Kishan to walk back to the pavilion, and the batter just laughed it off. Watch it here:
Send off to Ishan Kishan 🤯
During the intra squad match today, Zeeshan Ansari, a bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad, was seen giving a send off to his own captain Ishan Kishan after dismissing him.
The team atmosphere doesn’t seem to be very good.
— Stubbsy (@spideypant_) March 21, 2026
SRH would hope that this was just a show of the team’s ultra-competitive spirit. Ansari is an important bowler for SRH, whose bowling attack is the biggest weakness.
The leggie picked up six wickets in ten matches last year. His recent form has been excellent, with a staggering 21 wickets in his last eight competitive matches.
Kishan, on the other hand, is the team captain for the first few matches because first-choice skipper Pat Cummins is not expected to return until mid-April due to an injury.
Interestingly, the incident comes only hours after Jharkhand assistant coach Sunny Gupta described Kishan as far more than the ‘laughing boy’ many perceive him to be, highlighting his serious and methodical approach to captaincy. He said Kishan places strong emphasis on creating a positive dressing room but backs it up with clear rules and accountability.
