IND vs SA: One IPL Season Doesn't Make A Difference: Rashid Latif On Ishan Kishan's Poor Form In IPL 2022
The IPL 2022 saw the emergence of several new names, but it also saw some heavy guns underperform this season. While Tilak Varma, Ayush Badoni, Umran Malik, and Arshdeep Singh created waves, the established duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were unable to ignite the IPL as they normally do.
Kohli still managed a couple of half-centuries, but Rohit’s form was a huge concern since it was the first time he had gone the entire season without scoring a single fifty.
Apart from Rohit and Kohli, Ishan Kishan has also been criticised for his performance. The 23-year-old, who went for 15.25 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction, scored 418 runs with three half-centuries but was nonetheless chastised for failing to contribute to the team’s success.
Ishan Kishan Is A Utility Player: Rashid Latif
Following that, Ishan was named to India’s T20I team for the five-match series against South Africa, which begins early next month. While some may consider Ishan’s performance to be concerning, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif disagrees.
“One IPL season doesn’t make a difference. He is a value and utility player. There’s no draft or auction factor involved here while playing for India. When a player goes for ₹15 crores, all 8 franchises are after him. That’s how you calculate his value. Scoring runs in IPL is different.
“Even Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli haven’t scored runs. Ishan Kishan has certainly undergone a chance, because of which he couldn’t perform as well as he would have liked to. And that was one big reason why MI struggled this season,” Latif said on his YouTube channel.
Ishan’s appointment was a no-brainer after Rohit and Kohli were rested for the home series and KL Rahul was named captain. More so because this is the year of the T20 World Cup, and the 23-year-old appears to be an important part of India’s plans for the ICC event.
