Mahela Jayawardene Has Helped Me A Lot With My Batting: Ishan Kishan On Mumbai Indians Head Coach

Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan credited head coach Mahela Jayawardene for improving his batting and supporting him during his tough phase.

Ishan is famous for his aggressive batting style like the one he played in the final league stage encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he blazed 84 off 32 balls, smashing 11 fours and four sixes. His highest IPL score is 99 against RCB in IPL 2020. Ishan has smashed 121 fours and 74 sixes from 61 IPL games.

Mahela Jayawardene has worked on me a lot: Ishan Kishan

The 23-year-old affirmed former Sri Lanka skipper Jayawardene, who was appointed head coach of MI ahead of IPL 2017, for working hard on him and checking about his health when he is not training.

“Mahela has helped me a lot with my batting. I love hitting sixes, it comes naturally. So, that’s what I would do every time I hit the nets – pick on a spinner. Mahela sir has worked on me a lot.

“As soon as he would see me getting any bit casual, he’d quietly come over to where I was batting and tell me, ‘Boy, you have to focus. There’s a match coming’,” Ishan told Times of India. 

“He has always been around and has been a very calming influence. When he came to know I was sleeping very late, not on time, sometimes he’d call at 1 am in the morning to check. And if I picked the phone, he’d be like “oh, so you haven’t slept yet?” And I’d sheepishly reply: “I was just going to,” he added.

Mumbai Indians bought Ishan Kishan for INR 15.25 crore in IPL 2022 Auction

Ishan has scored 1133 runs from 45 IPL games for Mumbai Indians between 2018-21, he was the most expensive purchase in the IPL 2022 auction after he was sold for a whopping amount of INR 15.25 crore.

The wicketkeeper-batter sparked bids from Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians as two teams gave tough competition to each other to acquire the left-handed batter’s services. Punjab pulled out at 7.50 crores but Gujarat Titans challenged the MI Paltans but soon were out of the race.

Also Read: IND vs WI: Ishan Kishan Reveals His Favourite Batting Position In T20I Cricket