Follow UsMumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has failed to live up to the most expensive player tag in this year's Indian Premier League but the 23-year-old is not too worried about his form, saying even the best of cricketers "struggle" at some point.
The left-hander from Jharkhand was bought by MI for a whopping Rs 15.25 crore at the IPL auction earlier this year. He has scored 370 runs from 13 matches at an average of 30.83, with the help of three half-centuries, but has operated at a strike rate of less than 120.
He is, though, MI's second-highest run-getter in this IPL, a fact which showed the woeful form of most batters of the side. Mumbai were out of the play-offs reckoning long time back after losing eight matches on the trot.
"Even the biggest of players (can struggle), I have seen the likes of Chris Gayle taking time (to start hitting)," Kishan said at the post-match conference after MI lost by three runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday night.
"Every day is a new day, every match is new. Some day, you get a good start, some day, opposition bowlers come prepared and they bowl the balls at good areas. The planning inside the dressing room may be different from what the outside people want."
He said his role was not about hitting straightaway without analysing the situation of the game.
"In cricket, it can never be sure that you have just one role and I will just go out and hit the ball. If you think about the team, it is more important to understand about your role," Kishan, who scored 43 off 34 balls, said. "If the opposition bowlers are bowling well you need to give respect to them and if you can save wicket it makes it easier for the batters coming later.
"There cannot be just one situation. Some day, you need to go all out when you are chasing a big total, some day, you need to analyse the strength of the opposition team whether they have good bowlers to bowl at the death or not, or whether we have to save wickets or not."
Kishan also said that MI could have won the match had Tim David, who had smashed 46 off just 18 balls with the help of three fours and four sixes down the order, was there till the end. "Unfortunately, Tim David was run out. If he was till the end, he could have finished the game."
(With inputs from PTI)