Ishan Kishan, who just scored his first T20I century against New Zealand in Trivandrum, responded cheekily to an old video featuring former India captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The 27-year-old casually stated that he did not get an opportunity to play for two years, only weeks after scoring a double century in ODIs. He commented in a video published by two sloggers on YouTube:
“Aur konse do match? Do saal (Which two games, it’s two years.”
Watch the video below (from 2:30 onwards):
Kishan smashed the fastest double century against Bangladesh in December 2022, with the left-hander piling on 210 runs from just 113 deliveries. Despite that remarkable feat, Shubman Gill was preferred as the opener ahead of Kishan in the subsequent ODI series against Sri Lanka in January 2023.
Kishan made his return in the following series against New Zealand, this time batting in the middle order. In the same match, Gill also etched his name into the record books by scoring a double century, blasting 208 off 149 balls against the Kiwis.
While applauding Gill in an old video published by the BCCI, Rohit pulled Kishan’s leg, saying (via Hindustan Times):
“Ishan, yaar aapne 200 banake 3 match nahi khela. (Ishan, you didn’t play for three matches despite scoring a 200).”
Ishan Kishan replied:
“Bhaiyya captain toh aap ho (Brother, you are the captain).”
Ishan represented India until the 2023 ODI World Cup. In his final game against Afghanistan, he scored 47 runs.
“I know what it takes” – Rohit Sharma’s remark after choosing Shubman Gill over Ishan Kishan
Rohit Sharma chose Shubman Gill over Ishan Kishan because of his track record ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in January 2023. He justified his decision as follows (via ESPNcricinfo):
“Both openers have done really well, but looking at how both have gone through, it’s fair we give Gill a chance to have a fair run, because he has got a lot of runs in the last few games. So has Ishan. I am not taking anything away from him. He has been wonderful for us. He got a double-hundred, and I know what it takes to get a double-hundred; it’s a great achievement.
“It’s unfortunate we won’t be able to play Ishan, but looking at how things have panned out for us in the last eight-nine months, and looking at how ODIs have gone for us, it’s fair to give Gill that run. He has done extremely well in that position. It’s very unfortunate for Ishan, but that doesn’t rule him out. We are going to try to keep everyone in the mix and see how it pans out for us as we play more games,” he added.
However, Ishan Kishan has turned things around since he is now in the T20I series with New Zealand replacing Shubman Gill in January 2026. He made his international comeback after which he scored 232 runs in four innings, one hundred and one 50. Since Sanju Samson lost popularity in the play, Kishan has replaced him as the first-choice wicketkeeper in India to play in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
