Didn’t Seem Like It Was Ishan Kishan’s First Match; Not Easy To Bat In Fearless Fashion On Debut – VVS Laxman

Former India batsman, VVS Laxman is in all praise of Ishan Kishan’s bold and audacious batting approach on his debut. On Sunday, the left-hander was handed a debut replacing Shikhar Dhawan in the second T20I of the ongoing 5-match series against England.

Chasing a target of 165 runs, on a sluggish pitch, Ishan Kishan sparkled with a match-winning knock as he smashed the English bowlers for 56 runs off 32 balls with the help of 5 fours and 4 sixes.

VVS Laxman says that the youngster overcame any nervousness of playing his first international game and played in an intrepid manner which is not easy. Kishan, who was earlier known as a predominantly an on-side batsman, showed his range by playing shot on the off-side as well, as Laxman pointed out.

“I loved Ishan Kishan’s fearless approach. It is not easy to bat in a carefree and fearless fashion in your debut match. We say that he has played international bowlers in the IPL but that nervousness is there,” VVS Laxman said while speaking with Star Sports.

“Every player has the dream of playing for India, there is a lot of competition and he played in place of Shikhar Dhawan today. But it didn’t seem like this was his first match. He played his natural game, not only on the on-side but he played shots on the off-side as well,” VVS Laxman added.

The atmosphere in the IPL is like international cricket: VVS Laxman

The 46-year-old cricketer-turned-commentator credits the IPL for the successful fast-tracking of youngsters to the national side. VVS Laxman says that the environment, pressure, crowds, expectations in the IPL are very similar to those in international cricket. Hence, someone like Ishan Kishan, who had a brilliant IPL 2020 with the Mumbai Indians, looked at home on his international debut.

“He needs to continue playing his natural game like this. And I believe the young players who are coming and performing in international cricket, the main reason for that is the IPL.

“Every match in the IPL is like an international match, there is pressure and expectation from you and you play every match in front of a full crowd. So, that atmosphere is like international cricket. The way he batted last year, because of that he batted with confidence today as well,” the former batsman added.

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