Ishan Kishan the Power-Hitter

Uprooting an entire family in pursuit of a dream that may or may not come to fruition isn’t the easiest task. There is a reason why Indian society boasts of disproportionately more engineers, doctors and MBAs for every professional artist and/or sportsperson. In the current climate, 2022 i.e., there is more acceptance of such non-traditional occupations or even pursuit of an ambitious dream. Imagine the scenario more than a decade earlier – it was still a tougher ask. Ishan Kishan was made as the captain of the Under-19 team at the 2016 World Cup, but the team lost in the final against West Indies.

 While performance with the red ball is still the bedrock of any youngster’s future prospects, the Indian Premier League buys you a ticket to the big league. From there, you are thrust into the limelight, rubbing shoulders with global stars, and pursuing the biggest dream on the grandest T20 stage. Ishan Kishan benefitted from this as well, snapped up by Gujarat Lions in 2016 for INR 35 lakh (base price INR 10 lakh). This was a trial-by-fire for him as he was part of a franchise that would go defunct in two years. He did enough though – 48 off 35 balls against Mumbai Indians in a tied game that Lions lost in the Super Over.

The best way to grab attention in the sporting arena is to challenge the best. Push them out of their comfort zone and they will notice you. It was quite literal in this particular case – Mumbai Indians bought Ishan Kishan in the 2018 IPL auctions for a whopping INR 6.2 crore (base price INR 40 lakhs). For comparison sake, Punjab Kings (erstwhile KXIP) had bought KL Rahul for INR 11 crore in that same auction. Ishan Kishan’s story is unique because it wasn’t forged in the IPL arena alone. He had been commendable in recent times.

His cricketing prowess stood the test of domestic rigours, multiplying IPL exploits with super performances in the Ranji arena, and that is precisely why Mumbai Indians broke the bank for him – twice in four years. Take the 2016-17 domestic season for exam He smashed a Ranji record 273 against Delhi, and then followed up with 484 runs in six matches for Jharkhand in 2017-18.

Cynics might argue that Mumbai overpaid considering the auction dynamics. Perhaps they could have retained him at a lower price. It was tough for Mumbai to do that – Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were obvious top-two picks. Retention rules then didn’t allow for higher pay for the third player, certainly not above INR 10 crores. It was a situation wherein both the franchise and the player knew the true worth of this transaction, and considering it was a mega auction, Indian cricketers come at a higher premium than most others. Ishan Kishan has proved his place in the Mumbai IPL team.

Ishan Kishan who is a part of the elite ₹2-crore club was swooped up by Mumbai Indians for ₹15.25 crore after a frantic bidding war between teams, becoming the second most expensive Indian player in the history of the franchise after the bid for Yuvraj Singh was won by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capital) for ₹16 crore ahead of IPL 2015. The auction for Tata IPL 2022 kicked off with a bang with Shikhar Dhawan being the first to go under the hammer, After an intense bidding war between Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, Dhawan was swooped up by Punjab Kings for ₹8.25 crore. 

Ishan Kishan advent into the national team over the last one year is all down to his fine display with Mumbai Indians in the last two seasons. The very fact that he decided to ignore a lucrative offer from Gujarat Titans and take part in the auction, only shows the confidence of the young man, who knows he is going to be richer by a few more crores on IPL’s mega payday.

Kishan’s natural talent grabbed eyeballs from quite an early age, especially after the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where India finished runners-up with him being the deputy in command. This was inspirational in the now-defunct Gujarat Lions Rs 35 lakh purchase of the Jharkhand batter, who amassed 319 runs over 16 games for the side.