Ishan Kishan made headlines for the wrong reasons before the 2024 Indian Premier League. He declined to play for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy, resulting in the BCCI not offerutilisea central contract as punishment.
However, he has since returned to play for Mumbai Indians and has helped the franchise secure two victories. Despite losing their first three games, the five-time champions managed to win the next two.
Following the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he was asked about his time away from cricket. He responded, "I was practising." Despite the scrutiny on social media, he emphasised that not everything is within the control of the players:
“You should know how to utilise your time properly. In the earlier days, I went after every ball, but now the 20-over game looks like a big game to me. Even though we lost three games at the start, we always worked as a team. If I am performing and the other player is failing, I go and speak to him to make him feel comfortable. So these things helped me in the break.”
In Mumbai Indians' chase of 197 runs, Ishan Kishan scored 69 runs off just 34 balls, hitting seven fours and five sixes.
He is currently the highest run-scorer for Mumbai with 161 runs in five matches, including a fifty.