Former Indian middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane, who recently retired from all forms of the game, has heaped praise on India’s No.3 batter Ishan Kishan, who scored 61 off 32 in the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand in Hamilton.
Speaking on Sony Sports, Rahane lauded Kishan for making a few important technical adjustments and bringing a change in his mindset after returning to the national team ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.
“He has made a few technical adjustments, but I think there has been a change in his mindset. He was dropped, went and played domestic cricket, and made a comeback after that. A player becomes different when he comes back after performing in domestic cricket,” Rahane said on Sony Sports.
Since his comeback to the national side, Kishan managed to lead the run-scoring charts in the ongoing calendar year in T20Is, amassing 1220 runs in 37 games at an average of 35.88 and a strike rate of 171.58, with a century and eight half-centuries.
Kishan, who was ruled out of the second and third T20Is, played only three games in the five-match series against New Zealand, scoring 62 runs at an average of 20.67 with five fours and as many sixes.
“The freedom with which he played is extremely necessary. His has been an excellent story. He has scored 1,220 runs this year. If I talk about today’s innings, the game changed completely after the six he hit over point. He returned in the last match from injury and wasn’t looking in that rhythm, but a batter needs one shot to get his confidence, and he didn’t look back after that,” Rahane added.
Despite Kishan’s heroics with the bat, India suffered a seven-wicket defeat in Hamilton on Sunday, November 1.
