Nestled in the Chota Nagpur plateau and dotted with lush green hills, Ranchi offered a refreshing backdrop, with a gentle winter chill beginning to settle in the air as the duo went through their batting drills at adjacent nets. Kishan, the Jharkhand skipper who knows the JSCA Stadium like the back of his hand, spent considerable time in the nets, taking on the spinners and sending several deliveries soaring into the stands in his typically aggressive style. Local ‘boy’ Ishan Kishan and 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up the nets with their trademark attacking strokes as India went through an intense practice session ahead of the second T20I against the West Indies in Ranchi on Friday.
Kishan was batting alongside India’s T20 World Cup-winning star Sanju Samson , while the veteran opener took his time, batting patiently before playing some elegant shots. Going by the session, however, India, who won the opening T20I in Lucknow by eight wickets, seem likely to retain the same XI and stick to their fearless approach as they look to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
“As a batting coach, I see him playing on this ground as if it is his home ground. Since he came back from the World Cup, he has been doing really well for the Indian team. “If anything, I would say that he is much more mature now. “Any bowler will have certain matches where things don’t go their way. The team has not been decided yet, so I don’t know what the chances are. “The way we are approaching the game, with a fearless attitude and a team-first mindset, will remain the same. It might be a different wicket, but generally in T20 cricket we get good wickets.
“So that is non-stop work which is going on. After losing his BCCI central contract and spending a prolonged period away from the team following the late-2023 disciplinary and domestic cricket controversy, Kishan used the domestic season to rebuild his career before returning to India’s T20 setup and contributing to the World Cup campaign.
He plays according to the needs of the team and the situation of the game, and he has been doing really well. Obviously, any bowler, bowling coach or member of the team management will look at where he has conceded runs, in which overs and from which deliveries, and how those runs can be cut down, whether through length, pace or change of pace,” he said. Everyone in the squad has a chance,” Kotak said about a possible change in the bowling combination. So the way we want to approach T20 cricket will continue,” Kotak said at the pre-match media interaction.
