Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has lauded Ishan Kishan's drive towards representing his state in domestic cricket. Kishan recently led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title and emerged as the top-scorer of the edition. Ashwin linked Kishan's India comeback to the respect he gave to the domestic grind, regularly taking part at the level and performing consistently.
Notably, Kishan was recently called up to India's 15-member squad announced for the T20 World Cup on the back
of some solid performances in the domestic circuit. He last played for the Men in Blue across all formats in 2023. He will be expected to be a backup alternative of Sanju Samson.
"Cricket has given Ishan Kishan a gift. People on the outside can have a guess on whether it was fair, unfair, and all, but life comes back in a circle. The reason Ishan (Kishan) was not on the side, and why he is in the team now, is because of one thing. He gave cricket the respect it deserves," shared Ashwin in a video on his YouTube channel.
The erstwhile all-rounder also highlighted that Kishan stayed grounded and showed up even for the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai before scoring runs in Ranji Trophy. The cricketer-turned-commentator commended Kishan's character and reiterated the fact that it was only his willingness and drive that paved the path of his comeback.
"In First-Class, he even came to play in the Buchi Babu Invitational. A player like Ishan Kishan came in to play the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai for Jharkhand. From there, he was there for Jharkhand in their preparation for the Ranji Trophy, where he was number one. And in First-Class cricket, he came in and scored runs. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he led Jharkhand and even performed well. It is because of this," he added.
"It is not about Ishan Kishan the person; it is about Ishan Kishan the cricketer who went through the yards of the game, respected the game, and hence succeeded. In mathematics, we say LHS equals RHS; you must have heard it, it is basic mathematics. This is why he went through the ropes in domestic cricket, which is LHS, which equals RHS, which is selection. It is very simple," concluded Ashwin.
