Ishan Kishan’s childhood coach Uttam Mazumdar has stated that when Ishan Kishan dedicated the knock to his father, who recently passed away, he was in all tears. He further added that Ishan was really emotional when Virat Kohli told him of his India debut ahead of Sunday’s encounter.
Ishan Kishan’s debut night had everything a young cricketer in India would die to have to his name – a match-winning fifty, a man of the match award, and a partnership with Virat Kohli for ages. The making of Ishan Kishan at Mumbai Indians had the right amount of grip to make him so fearless at the biggest stage of them all.
Kishan hit the first ball for a four and then got to his fifty with another boundary – enough testimony of his immeasurable talent. At the end of the knock, during the presentation ceremony, Ishan dedicated the knock to his coach’s father, who recently passed away. That was enough to bring tears in Uttam Mazumdar’s eyes who saw the spark in the Jharkhand wicket-keeper when Ishan was just five.
“It’s been a long journey. It’s sixteen years of hard work put in by Ishan and me. He has struggled a lot and put in a lot of hard work to reach this level. It was a proud moment for me to see him debut for India and play a match-winning knock. I was in front of the television set and watching him bat. I was in tears when he dedicated that knock to my father who passed away recently. I am going through a tough time, but his words made my day. He played an unbelievable knock,” Mazumdar told Timesofindia.com.
“He was five when he came to the Moin-ul-Haq stadium with his father. I took him to the nets and bowled a couple of deliveries to him. I realised he was talented and agreed to coach him. I told his father – ‘this guy is a prodigy’ and that he will go a long way,” he said.
Mazumdar revealed that Kohli himself had broken the news of Ishan’s debut to him on the game day and Ishan immediately called him up to share the news.
“Ishan called me ahead of the match and said Virat bhai came and said you are making your debut today. He said ‘sir, I am so happy’. He was very emotional at that moment. After handing the debut cap, Virat asked him to address the team. I wanted to keep him grounded. I just said, everyone makes a debut but there are very few who make their debuts unforgettable,” Mazumdar further added.
“I told him to stay calm and be composed and relaxed. I told him – ‘you have faced world-class bowlers in the IPL and you have smashed them all over the park. So, go with the same mindset and intent.”
