With his 44-ball knock of 91 runs against the Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Ishan Kishan hit his second fifty of this IPL season. The 27-year-old, who was announced as the captain of SRH this season with Australian pacer Pat Cummins not available for the first few weeks of the tournament, Kishan has also been wearing the wicket-keeper’s hat along with the captain’s hat.
On Monday evening, Kishan did not keep wickets with Salil Arora taking over from him. Post the match, Kishan shared how not donning the gloves helps him in captaincy, discussing plans with the bowlers and setting more time with the fielders and how donning the wicket-keeper’s role resulted in some miscommunication with the players.
“I think, you know as a captain, I felt there was some miscommunication going on. You know, sometimes when you are keeping, the time is not there. You are not able to communicate with the bowlers about the plans. So I think it’s better to be there, discuss with them when they are going to bowl so that we can set the field accordingly. And that was the plan and I think it worked pretty well for us. Hopefully, yes, this is the way forward,” said Kishan in the post match presentation.
Hyderabad has so far scored two wins in IPL this season with three losses. Kishan who was bought by the franchise for Rs 11.40 crore in the mega auction in 2024, has so far played in 19 matches for the Hyderabad side. Last season, Aussie pacer Cummins had captained Sunrisers Hyderabad and the team had finished sixth in the points table with a total of 13 points.
Former South African captain Faf du Plessis termed Kishan getting runs is helping him as a captain.
“Ishan would know his role is twofold. One is Ishan Kishan the batter and role he plays in that team and then secondly as a captain. We saw it tonight. How important it is for him and his own captaincy. Just to score runs. Because what that does is it just gives you confidence. You walk around the field knowing that you have done your job. And then when you walk on the field, your decisions are clear, your thinking is clear because you are on your own head, around your own form and your own batting. So it’s always connected to how you play and how you captain,” Plessis told JioHotstar.