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Sanjay Manjrekar highlights Ishan Kishan's evolution, admits he once doubted his India future

Former national team cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recently shared his revised perspective regarding Ishan Kishan, acknowledging that he previously questioned whether the left-hander could maintain a long-term international career. During the innings break of the Asian Games semi-final clash against Sri Lanka, Manjrekar noted that Kishan has successfully transformed his approach from an overly power-dependent style to a much more mature and adaptable mode of batting.

He contrasted this progress with the player's earlier days at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, where Kishan competed alongside Rishabh Pant and frequently relied on brute force with shaky balance. Manjrekar highlighted that the batter has since improved his physical control, shot selection, and spatial awareness across sluggish pitches.

This assessment followed an unbeaten knock of 80 runs from 46 deliveries by Kishan during the semi-final encounter, an innings that came even as partners fell regularly at the opposite end. The analyst specifically pointed to the execution of precise cuts, full shots, and a reverse lofted sweep as evidence of the player's recent maturation.

Despite scoring a record-breaking double century against Bangladesh in December 2022 as the youngest male player to reach that ODI milestone, Kishan had previously struggled to secure permanent spots across formats.

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