Published: Jul 18, 2016, 02:47 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 23, 2016, 02:29 PM (IST)
Born July 18, 1998, Ishan Pranav Kumar Pandey Kishan is an Indian cricketer who represented and captained India’s Under-19 side in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 to the finals. Ishan comes from the same state from where cricketers like MS Dhoni, Saurabh Tiwary, Varun Aaron hail from, which is Jharkhand. Ishan is a wicketkeeper and left-handed opening batsman for his state and India U-19 team. On his birthday, Abhishek Kumar presents 11 interesting facts about this young Indian cricketer.
1. Was never serious about cricket: In an interview with CricToday.com, Ishan revealed that he was never serious about cricket and used to play it for fun.
2. His elder brother’s sacrifice: During his playing days, his brother Raj Kishan was more serious towards cricket than Ishan. But Raj always thought of Ishan as a brilliant talent. As per Ishan, Raj gave up playing cricket so that he could grow as a cricketer.
3. Had to leave school for cricket: Like any other struggling cricketer, Ishan too faced difficulties in his career in managing both studies and cricket. But he could not manage it properly and had to leave school because of short attendance. He was studying in reputed school like Delhi Public School but this never stopped him from playing cricket as he continued with the game.
4. School World Cup: Ishan represented Indian side in ICC Under-19 World Cup but this was the not the first World Cup tournament for him. He had previously led his school side at the School World Cup in Aligarh when he was 7 years-old. His team could only reach till super-eight stage of the tournament before making exit.
5. Moved from Bihar to Jharkhand: Ishan learned playing cricket in Patna and also represented Bihar state but at that time, the state board lost its affiliation with the BCCI and had to shift to Jharkhand, which he thinks was a fortunate move. As the trials opened in Jharkhand, Ishan got selected for Under-19 and continued from there.
6. His idol: In an interview, Ishan revealed that Australian opener David Warner is his cricketing idol and he loves his stroke making ability. But going by his coach Santosh Kumar, he idolises India’s limited-overs captain Dhoni and former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist as he too is a wicketkeeper-batsman. His coach also says that he is the combination of Dhoni and Gilchrist.
7. The road rage controversy: Just before the beginning of the Under-19 World Cup 2016, Ishan found himself in a controversy after his car hit an autorickshaw in Patna. Later, the reports came that he was arrested for reckless driving and his father Pranav Pandey was accused of manhandling after the incident which happened in Kankarbagh on the evening of January 12, 2016.
8. Likes to open and take on spinners: Ishan likes to bat at the opening position and after facing some pacers, he likes to have a go against the spinners.
9. Under-19 World Cup: Under Ishan’s captaincy, India’s Under-19 side was unbeatable before the finals. They won five consecutive matches before losing in the final against West Indies. In the tournament, Ishan did not have a good outing with the bat as he could only score one half-century and that came against New Zealand in the second match.
10. Wanted to be a part of CSK or RR: Before the Under-19 World Cup, Ishan expressed his desire to play for Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or Rahul Dravid-mentored Rajasthan Royals (RR) but eventually both these teams were banned for two-years.
11. IPL 2016: Ishan was bought by a new team — Gujarat Lions (GL) at INR 35 lakhs. He got five matches to play but could not show much promise with the bat as he could only manage to score 42 runs in those five games.
(Abhishek Kumar is a cricket devotee currently staffing with Criclife.com. He can be followed on Twitter @abhik2593 and on Facebook at abhicricket.kumar)
