"Lot of it gets spoken…" Ishan Kishan breaks his silence on mental health break

Ishan Kishan had taken a mental health break, returning home during India’s South Africa tour.

Ishan Kishan was on fire for Mumbai Indians (MI) as his breezy fifty gave his team a brilliant platform against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their last Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Thursday. MI defeated RCB by 7 wickets in a dominating performance thanks to Kishan’s powerplay fireworks.

Kishan highlighted his rampaging 34-ball 69 against the RCB as an indicator of his renewed approach. He had been out of action since India’s tour of South Africa early this year and only made his cricketing return in the DY Patil T20 Cup a month before the IPL 2024 began.

Kishan sparked controversy when he requested a break during India’s December visit to South Africa. Kishan’s last appearance for India was in a T20I series against Australia in November 2023. Kishan, 25, was not selected for any of the future national assignments, and India’s head coach Rahul Dravid had insisted that Kishan play domestic cricket to make a comeback.

In addition to Shreyas Iyer, Kishan was not considered for the BCCI central contract for the October 2023-September 2024 season because the board strongly opposed his absence from domestic cricket.

If you had taken time off, use it the best way possible: Ishan Kishan

Kishan asserted that despite everything, he practiced cricket. The Jharkhand player returned to competitive cricket in February with his participation in the DY Patil T20 Cup. He also trained at a private facility in Baroda with MI captain Hardik Pandya.

His strike rate of 182.95 has given his club an early advantage, and he is currently MI’s leading run-scorer with 161 runs from five matches, proving that his hard work has paid off in the IPL.

“I was practicing as well as I could. I had taken (an) off (time) and when you take an off, a lot of it is gets spoken about on social media. What we can do is that if you have taken time (out) for yourself, use it the best way possible for yourself,” Kishan said in a post-match presser after MI v RCB encounter.

“There is nothing like that (that) I want to prove to someone. I just have to go there and enjoy. I have learned that you do not have to add pressure on yourself about these things which are not in your hand. You have to figure out what are (your) controllables and what are (your) uncontrollable.

This is where getting a good mindset works. The Ishan Kishan of the past would not have left the balls alone if the bowling was good in the first two overs. But with time I have learned that a 20-over game is also very long and you can take your time and move forward while keeping the belief in yourself,” Kishan added.

Kishan would know that too well as he has been in that shoe a short while back.

“I also know when someone is not doing well, how they feel like. I also felt it changed for me, that if someone is not doing well then let’s talk to them and find their mindset. I think all these changes have helped me after the break,” he added.

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