'Need to understand the importance of the Ranji Trophy' - Centurion Ishan Kishan opines matured take on domestic cricket

Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan is focused on the present and determined to enjoy every opportunity he gets, regardless of the level he is playing at. Leading Jharkhand in the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy, Kishan began the season with a defiant century, his ninth in first-class cricket, to rescue his team after a top-order collapse against Tamil Nadu on a greenish surface in Coimbatore.

The Patna-born ended the opening day unbeaten on 125 off 183 balls, guiding Jharkhand to a strong position at 307 for 6. Alongside Sahil Raj, he added an unbroken 150-run stand for the seventh wicket, helping his side recover impressively from early trouble.

"At this stage, I need to be very smart. You need to understand the importance of the Ranji Trophy. You need to understand the importance of these matches when you play against big teams,” said Kishan as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Kishan walked out to bat at No. 5 with Jharkhand in trouble at 79 for 3 shortly after lunch. He then dug in for the better part of the next two sessions, curbing his natural attacking instincts and showing impressive discipline. The fact that he struck only two sixes in his innings was a clear reflection of the restraint and maturity he displayed at the crease.

"You make so many mistakes initially in your career and then later you realise the real meaning of experience. You have to be in the middle and only then you can change the game. I was checking the wind when the left-arm spinner was bowling. I really wanted to go hard against him. But looking at the scoreboard, six wickets down did not feel right for me. I did it [bat with caution] once in the Irani Cup and here in the Ranji Trophy, where I'm the experienced and the only India player in the team, my job was to ensure we were batting at stumps,” said Kishan.

"I was actually wanting to go for sixes. But the situation demanded otherwise. This comes with experience. When you play enough matches, you understand sometimes that singles are more important than sixes and over a period of time, your mindset changes. A partnership was important to make their bowlers tired,” he added.

"Whenever I go in with a target, I just do very badly. I just do something which is not important. So let's not keep any target this season. Just keep on batting. If you are in the middle, you will get as many runs as you want. That's the only goal for me,” he concluded.

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Kishan enjoyed a solid build-up to the season. Following a brief county stint with Nottinghamshire, where he scored 77 and 87 in two innings, he was in contention for a recall to the Indian squad for the fifth Test against England at The Oval, as cover for the injured Rishabh Pant. However, an untimely e-bike accident in the UK left him with bruises, ruling him out of consideration.

Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan was eventually named as cover, while Dhruv Jurel took on the role of first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Pant’s absence. After recovering fully, Kishan returned to action in the Irani Cup earlier this month, representing the Rest of India to start his 2025-26 domestic season.