The evening on Thursday, December 18 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune witnessed history created, as Ishan Kishan led Jharkhand to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) title.
Jharkhand defeated Haryana in the finals by a handsome 69-run margin to lift the trophy for premier Indian 20-over domestic competition.
Kishan, who scored a century in the finals, was brilliant throughout the season. The wicketkeeper-batter has been out of the Indian team for quite some time now, has said that it is natural for any cricketer to feel bad when he or she does not see their name in the Indian squad. However, the Patna-born further said that keeping expectations after a starry performance will only hurt further if he doesn't get selected.
"I know you fancy your chances a lot of times, and when you don't see your name, you just feel bad about it. I'm not in that zone anymore. I'm not expecting anything. My job is to just keep performing," Kishan smiled and was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
"When I was not selected for the Indian team, I felt quite bad because I was doing well. But I told myself that if I am not selected despite this sort of performance, then maybe I have to do more. Maybe I have to make my team win. Maybe we have to do well as a unit," Kishan said.
The left-handed batter further said that it is very significant for him as a player to not let the frustration get over his head, as he feels that it only takes one down from where they are. According to him, the focus for a player should only and only be at the desired position or whatever a player wants to achieve in their respective careers.
"It's important that you don't allow frustration to get to you. This is my message to all the youngsters: frustration is something that will take you one step down. At the same time, you need to put in a lot of hard work, believe in yourself, and just focus on what you need to achieve," Kishan added.
Speaking of Kishan's performances in SMAT 2025, the star cricketer topped the run-scoring charts to smash a staggering tally of 517 runs from 10 matches, striking at an average of 57.44. He has been away from the Indian team since November 2023. With the T20 World Cup 2026 squad to be announced on Saturday, December 20, it will be interesting to see if Kishan makes a comeback to the T20I side.
