WI vs IND 2023: He helped me a little bit with my bat position – Ishan Kishan thanks Rishabh Pant for advice ahead of West Indies tour

India’s wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan has revealed how Rishabh Pant helped him with his bat position ahead of the ongoing West Indies tour. Kishan and Pant have known each other since the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 when the latter played under the captaincy of the former.

While Pant has already made a name for himself in Test cricket, Kishan is now finding his feet in the absence of Delhi batter. Kishan made his Test debut against the West Indies at Windsor Park, Dominica but remained unbeaten on one run before Rohit Sharma decided to declare the innings.

Kishan then scored 25 runs in the first innings of the second Test match. The attacking left-hander was given the licence to bat freely when India was in a position to dictate terms in the second innings on Sunday.

Kishan smashed the fifth fastest fifty for India in Test cricket, getting to his maiden half-century in just 33 balls. After playing a blistering knock, which extended India’s lead to 364, Kishan thanked Pant for helping him improve his batting technique when he recently met him at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru.

In a video shared by the BCCI, Ishan Kishan said, “I was at NCA before coming here. I was practising there and Rishabh was also there for his rehab. He just got few points for me; he asked me the bat position and everything. Because we have played together, so many matches, we are together since Under-19. So he knows how I play, what my mindset is. So he just helped me a little bit with my bat position and everything.

“So otherwise I think I also wanted someone to tell me a few things about my batting and it was a great time for him to come and chat with me and I am really thankful for that,” the young Indian keeper-batter added.

Kishan said he just wanted to go out there and play positively. The pugnacious left-hander was able to reap rewards for the same and scored an unbeaten knock of 52 runs.

“It was one of my dream to get into the whites. I just wanted to go in and hit every ball. Mostly thankful to my parents who have always supported me.”

India needs eight wickets to win the second Test whereas the West Indies require 289 runs on the final day.

Speaking on the match situation, Kishan said, “It should be a good game tomorrow [Monday]. We need to hit the right areas and it’s important to get early wickets.”