Ishan Kishan scored an unbeaten 106 off 47 as SRH notched up a mammoth 286/6, the second-biggest team total in IPL history.
Ishan Kishan’s run to force a comeback into the Indian team continued on Sunday as the wicketkeeper-batter smashed a maiden century in his IPL career at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad during the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Former England captain Michael Vaughan reckoned Ishan’s celebration was aimed at BCCI’s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, India captain Rohit Sharma and his former franchise Mumbai Indians.
Ishan Kishan celebrates after scoring a century during IPL 2025 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals(AFP)
Ishan was released by MI head of the mega auction last November, where Sunrisers put their money on the India star and the latter repaid the faith on his debut for the franchise on Sunday at home. Taking on Rajasthan Royals on a batting-friendly track, Ishan smashed 11 boundaries and six maximums to score an unbeaten 106 off 47 as SRH notched up a mammoth 286/6, the second-biggest team total in IPL history.
Following the knock, Vaughan, speaking to Cricbuzz, reckoned Ishan’s wild celebration at the Hyderabad ground was a statement for India comeback. However, he admitted the pressure on the Agarkar-led selection committee, given the abundance of talent in India.
“That celebration wasn’t just a celebration for three figures today,” Vaughan said. “That was a celebration maybe to Mumbai, maybe to the chairman of selectors, maybe to Rohit Sharma, maybe to the whole of India, maybe to the whole of the world. He’s a wonderfully balanced player.”
“I’d love to be the chairman of selectors. The meetings would be long because you have so many players to talk about, and you’d be saying, sorry, Ishan, you’re not even in the top five at the moment. The talent pool in Indian cricket is monstrous. And the only way you can push yourselves into that setup is by doing remarkable things. And in T20 cricket, I think of all the formats to get a century at T20, cricket is the hardest format to get it.”
‘Ishan Kishan needed to come out of dysfunctional MI setup’
Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, who was part of the panel as well, reckoned the knock was a result of the change Ishan needed, and that stepping out of the “dysfunctional MI setup” worked in his favour.
‘For him, sometimes you just need a change. You just need a change in environment. We talked about how dysfunctional that Mumbai setup was last year. And for him to come into this setup and do what he did,” he said.
“Remember he came out, and straight after Abhishek got out, he just carried on as we talked about needing to do whatever Travis Head and Abhishek had done and just carry on. I mean, one of his first two balls went down the ground for four, and he just never looked like missing out from there. And it was a show of sometimes a new environment, new coaches, just simple messages, probably. Suddenly, you feel like, I can still do this. I’m back. Hopefully, that’s a catalyst for them for the rest of the season.”
