Ishan Kishan reveals his leadership mantra for Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of IPL 2026, says ‘Keep it…’

Sunrisers Hyderabad stand-in captain Ishan Kishan has opened up about his approach to leading the team in IPL 2026, which begins on March 28.

SRH will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Kishan will captain the side for the first time in his career while regular skipper Pat Cummins recovers from injury.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

In a video released by the franchise, Kishan expressed his happiness at getting the leadership opportunity and explained how he plans to keep things straightforward.

“I’ve always wanted to be a leader of the team, you know, and take the team forward from whatever situation. So, I’m very overwhelmed, and I’m very happy that I got this opportunity to lead this team. And to be very honest, I’m gonna just keep it simple, not to do so much because when players come to IPL, I think they’re all very good players,” he said in a video released by SRH.

“You just need to make sure that they are on the right track and their mindset doesn’t change after a few innings, going here and there. And the rest is, you know, it’s gonna be a good season, I guess, and we’ll just do it together,” the skipper added.

Kishan’s captaincy mantra: Stay present and enjoy

Kishan said his main focus will be keeping the team calm and focused on the present moment.

“The most important thing for a cricketer is to be in a very good headspace throughout the season. You know, what matters the most is if you are calm, if you are composed and you’re just aware of the situation of what’s happening and what’s needed for the team, you’re gonna do well,” he said.

“So, mostly this season, we’ll make sure that we just stay present, we just keep it simple, and do as much hard work as we can before the match starts. But in the match, we’re just gonna enjoy the game and take one match at a time,” Kishan added.

Kishan message to SRH fans

Kishan also thanked the fans and asked for their continued support as the team aims to end their 10-year wait for an IPL title.

“On behalf of my team, I would love to say thank you so much for being part of this journey. And this season is gonna be special. We’ll need your support. We’ll need your love. We’re gonna play our best cricket,” he said.

“We are going to do our best, give our best for you guys, especially because I know what kind of support we get when we play for SRH. Hopefully, we’ll do our best and try to give up a very good show. And thank you for all the support till now,” Kishan concluded.

Kishan had a brilliant T20 World Cup 2026, scoring 532 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.92 and a strike rate of 207.