Sanjay Manjrekar highlights Ishan Kishan's evolution, admits he once doubted his India future

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Ishan Kishan for his batting evolution during India's Asian Games semi-final against Sri Lanka, pointing out how the left-hander has developed his game and learned to adapt to different conditions.

Speaking during the innings break on Sony Sports Network, Manjrekar reflected on Kishan's journey from an aggressive, muscle-first batter to a more complete player. He also compared his development with that of Rishabh Pant, with whom Kishan played during India's Under-19 days.

Manjrekar said one of the biggest questions surrounding Kishan earlier in his career was whether he could adjust his approach according to different conditions and situations.

"Can he adjust to different conditions? And I maintain that in the last three months, Ishan Kishan has notched up another sort of stage in his career," he said.

The former India batter then recalled watching Kishan alongside Pant during the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. According to Manjrekar, Kishan's early approach was heavily reliant on power, with his technique and balance still needing work.

"I thought he was inspired by Rishabh Pant. They played together in the India Under-19 World Cup that happened in Bangladesh, where you thought he was trying to muscle the ball too much, a bit too much. His body and balance weren't that great," Manjrekar said.

However, Manjrekar believes Kishan has now added greater control and adaptability to his natural attacking game. His assessment came after Kishan played a crucial unbeaten knock of 80 off 46 balls in the semi-final, despite India losing wickets regularly at the other end.

The former batter specifically highlighted Kishan's shot selection and balance on a slow surface, pointing to his ability to assess where the ball is and adjust his response accordingly.

"But now, when you look at the shots that he's played, there is great balance. This is a perfect execution of the reverse lofted sweep. This guy worked out that if the ball is far, I'm going to stay back and play the cut shot or the full shot," he said.

Manjrekar further explained how Kishan was able to execute his straight lofted shots despite the lack of pace in the surface.

"And every time he lofted it straight, you see that the ball is right under his bat. It's a slow pitch, and this guy has worked it out," Manjrekar said.

Manjrekar admits he once doubted Kishan's India future

Manjrekar's strongest admission, however, came when he reflected on a period when Kishan's place in the Indian setup appeared uncertain despite having already produced one of the biggest individual innings in ODI cricket.

Kishan famously scored a double century against Bangladesh in December 2022, becoming the youngest batter to reach the landmark in men's ODIs. However, he struggled to establish himself as a regular across formats thereafter, with competition for places also increasing.

Reflecting on Kishan's journey since then, Manjrekar admitted that there was a stage when he wondered whether the left-hander would remain part of India's plans.

"I believe he's at a stage where he's batting the best he's ever done, and I'm really happy for him because there was a time when you thought that this guy would disappear from the Indian scene after getting a double hundred at the one-day level. So, nice evolution of his," Manjrekar said.

Kishan's knock proved particularly important as India finished their innings on 169/7. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scoring a quickfire 38 before being dismissed while attempting to attack the bowling.

Abhishek Sharma also fell while trying to take on the bowling, leaving Kishan to play a more controlled innings. The contrast in approaches underlined the evolution Manjrekar was referring to, with Kishan showing the ability to balance aggression with better shot selection on a challenging surface.