Ishan Kishan continues his terrific form in domestic cricket. The southpaw led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy just a few days ago, scoring a sensational match-winning century in the final. He followed this with another brilliant ton as the state began its Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, albeit in a losing cause. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh praised the southpaw for his one-day hundred that came against Karnataka in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Kishan went berserk, taking just 33 balls to reach the three-figure mark. He finished with 125 runs off just 39 deliveries and struck seven fours and 14 sixes in the game against Karnataka at a strike rate of 320.51.
“He’s (Ishan) small in stature, but he hits such big shots,” said Harbhajan in a video on his YouTube channel.
The former India spinner took a trip down memory lane and recalled bowling to Kishan in an exhibition match.
“I had already recognized his talent earlier. I had come to play a match with him once. I remember it clearly, it was an exhibition match in Mumbai. I was bowling. I bowled one ball a little slower, and he played it slightly late towards the covers. The next ball he went down on one knee and hit it for a four there. Then I said to myself, ‘Okay, now I won’t bowl slow to him, I’ll bowl fast.’ I bowled a fast delivery. The ball was a bit wet. But the moment the ball left my hand, he went down and played a reverse sweep. I remember that very clearly,” he added.
Harbhajan went on to say that not even former England captain Kevin Pietersen smashed him better on a switch hit than Kishan.
“I said, this guy is an amazing player. I mean, even Kevin Pietersen didn’t hit me like that with a reverse switch hit the way this young boy did. I said, this is a special talent. After that, recently he wasn’t in the team, but as I said, I’m really happy to see him back in the side because he has a lot of power. He is a very, very strong player. He’s young, but he plays with great maturity,” Harbhajan said.
Kishan’s impressive performance in domestic cricket earned him a spot in India’s 15-member squad for T20 World Cup 2026.