On Thursday, December 18 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Ishan Kishan guided Jharkhand to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) victory. Jharkhand defeated Haryana in the final by 69 runs to win the premier Indian 20-over domestic championship.
And Kishan, who hit a century in the finals, has been outstanding all season. The former wicketkeeper-batsman, who has been out of the team for a while now, said that there is no one who will not feel guilty if they aren’t part of Indian squad. BAT ZERO! But an Indian cricketer pulling off that kind of a knock and you realise he may have won only for the entire team to bat like extras at rehearsals is, still, extremely bitter for Pant who added ‘maintaining expectations’ after a game up success will only increase his disappointment in case he isn’t selected.
“I know you fancy your chances a lot of times, and when you don’t see your name, you just feel bad about it. I’m not in that zone anymore. I’m not expecting anything. My job is to just keep performing,” Kishan smiled and was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
“When I was not selected for the Indian team, I felt quite bad because I was doing well. But I told myself that if I am not selected despite this sort of performance, then maybe I have to do more. Maybe I have to make my team win. Maybe we have to do well as a unit,” Kishan said.
The left-handed batter went on to say how important it is for him as a player not to allow irritation get the best of him, as he believes it only takes one down from where they are. According to him, a player’s primary focus should be on achieving the desired position or goal in their individual careers.
“It’s important that you don’t allow frustration to get to you. This is my message to all the youngsters: frustration is something that will take you one step down. At the same time, you need to put in a lot of hard work, believe in yourself, and just focus on what you need to achieve,” Kishan added.
Ishan Kishan, who was in fine form during SMAT 2025, led the run-scoring charts there, scoring 517 runs from 10 matches at an average of 57.44. He last played for India in November 2023. The T20 World Cup 2026 squad will be announced on Saturday December 20 and it would be interesting to see if they recall Kishan back in the T20I side.
