Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that the IPL 2025 season will be a big opportunity for the wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan to make his international comeback. Chopra feels that Kishan has gone off the radar and the upcoming IPL season will help his cause.
A couple of years ago, Ishan Kishan was seen as the next potential wicketkeeper-batter for India across formats. However, the left-hander was dropped from the BCCI’s central contracts list which proved to be a setback for him.
Kishan was found to be prioritizing the IPL over domestic cricket which prompted the selectors to take an action against him. As a result, he alongside Shreyas Iyer, was deprived of the national contracts.
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Aakash Chopra backs Ishan Kishan to light up IPL 2025
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra called the IPL 2025 season a big opportunity for Ishan Kishan. Chopra feels that Kishan has gone off the radar completely despite scoring runs in domestic cricket.
“The biggest opportunity is for Ishan Kishan. For whatever reason, he has just completely disappeared from the radar. It seems like no one is talking about him or understanding his importance. He even went and played the Ranji Trophy, and scored runs there, he is doing everything, but no one is even talking about him,” said Chopra.
The former India opener further reminded everyone of Kishan’s historic double-hundred in ODIs and claimed that the wicketkeeper-batter has the ability to change the course of a game with his ability to hit big sixes.
“He has got an ODI double century. How many people have scored a double century in ODIs, and this guy has done that. This guy has the ability to hit sixes and to change gears and bat,” he noted.
Ishan Kishan scored a double-century against Bangladesh in 2022 at Chattogram. He opened the batting in that game and smashed the Bangladesh bowlers all around the park. He struck 210 runs off just 131 balls which included 24 fours and 10 sixes.
Aakash Chopra wants Ishan Kishan to open
Further speaking on the topic, Aakash Chopra expressed surprise at Sunrisers Hyderabad going for Ishan Kishan despite having two established openers at the top. He feels that Kishan should only open in T20 cricket and moving him from that slot will affect his performance.
“Personally, I was a little surprised why he was picked. Why did you pick him to bat at No. 3? He is an opener, so allow him to open. However, there is no place as an opener. So Ishan Kishan will have to bat away from his preferred spot, which is not ideal in T20 cricket, but this is a great opportunity,” Chopra added.
Sunrisers Hyderabad already have a destructive opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the top order for them. The duo proved to be highly successful in the last season for them with their ability to destroy bowling attacks with their aggression.
With Kishan in the squad now, it remains to be seen how they manage their batting order. It is likely that Kishan can slot at No. 3 but with Heinrich Klaasen there, he is not likely to take the gloves as well.
Isham Kishan’s IPL numbers
Ishan Kishan joined Mumbai Indians in 2018 and has been associated with the franchise since that season. He has been a part of MI’s two title-winning runs in 2019 and 2020 having played a significant role in both the years.
The IPL 2020 season was his breakout year as he finished with 516 runs in 14 matches at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 145.76. However, his performance has dipped over the last few years. In the last season, he scored just 320 runs at an average of 22.86 and a strike rate of 148.84.
As a result, he wasn’t retained by the franchise and SRH saw the opportunity to snap him up for INR 11.25 crore. Overall, he has played 105 matches in IPL and scored 2644 runs at an average of 28.43 and a strike rate of 135.87.
