'Virat Kohli said I am selected as an opener in the T20 World Cup team': Ishan Kishan

India and Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Ishan Kishan had a memorable night in the last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). He scored an enterprising 84 off just 32 balls. His blitz at the top blew the SRH away. This inning was also a much-needed one from the southpaw after his dismal outing in past few games for MI.

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After his heroic performance in the last edition of the IPL, Kishan looked a pale shadow of himself during this year’s IPL. He was also dropped from the team for a few games. The MI management again brought him in the team for their last couple of league matches as an opener and he didn’t disappoint them by scoring 50 and 84 in his last two games. The southpaw revealed he had a chat with senior players who helped him get out of the lean patch.

“I had a good chat with Virat bhai, Jasprit bhai also helped me. Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya also supported me. Everyone supported me and said this is a learning stage for me and make sure that I should learn from my mistakes here and not repeat it during the T20 World Cup,” said Ishan after the match against SunRisers Hyderabad.

Kishan has been named in the 15-member squad by BCCI for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. The southpaw revealed that Kohli told him that he is in the team as an opener. “Virat bhai told me, ‘You are selected as an opener, you just have to be prepared for that. But at the bigger level, you need to be prepared for everything,” he added.

Kishan’s timely return to form augurs well for team India ahead of the T20 World, which is set to begin on October 17.