Kishan believes moving away from the fear of failure and allowing his instincts to take over has helped him become more effective in the middle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think initially there were a lot of thoughts going on in my head. You have to get runs for your team, you have to make everyone proud, you have to take care of your place in the team. So you bat accordingly, and when you think about this, I think a fear of failure comes into your game. So you start thinking about, I don\u2019t want to lose my wicket, which also initiates the fact that you won\u2019t be trying so many good shots,\u201d Kishan told broadcasters ahead of India\u2019s second T20I against Afghanistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His central message, however, remained rooted in simplicity and composure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut at the end of the day, I think I\u2019ve just realised that if you\u2019re in the middle, if you\u2019re calm, you\u2019re just trying to watch the ball and not the bowler, and you\u2019re just playing your shots. So, everything is taken care of, and you just have to keep it simple because at the end of the day when you\u2019re playing at this level, obviously you have all the skills and everything. It\u2019s just the mindset, which is the most important thing. So the calmer you are in the middle, the better you get every day,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kishan, who led East Zone to their first Duleep Trophy triumph in 13 years, said his current method is built around reacting to the delivery rather than deliberately searching for scoring areas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m not over-trying to play shots. I\u2019m not thinking about playing shots. It\u2019s just that my body\u2019s reacting to it. So I\u2019m just focusing more on my hand-eye coordination. It\u2019s not that I\u2019m thinking about a particular area where I want to hit. It\u2019s just about watching the ball till the last moment, understanding what the bowler is trying to do and where my run-scoring options are,\u201d Kishan stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The wicketkeeper-batter also explained how his thinking during a match has changed. He recalled his approach during the Duleep Trophy when East Zone still had plenty of work to do despite being ahead in the contest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cMy job was to understand that (the) match is not over until it\u2019s over. There was still one day left, so I had to get those big runs coming because we were two wickets down and I know one partnership could make the shoulders down (in the third innings), but it\u2019s important to just be there, spend some time, so that they lose interest in the game and we are on the upper hand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For Kishan, the same principle now extends beyond batting. He said he remains keen to contribute in the field when he is not keeping wickets, while acknowledging that his catching needs further attention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHundred percent. I have been athletic throughout my life, and I feel I\u2019m very good when I\u2019m fielding as well. But still I have dropped a few catches in the past few games, so I\u2019ll have to work a lot on my fielding as well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He added that fielding opportunities can have a major bearing on matches, particularly when chances go down early.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBecause at this level, sometimes you drop catches and you don\u2019t realise it because the batsman did not score so much. But if you drop someone good from a good team, like you drop him around fourth or fifth over and he ends up getting runs, it will be a huge difference for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He added that fielding opportunities can have a major bearing on matches, particularly when chances go down early.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m just trying to work more on my fielding and wicketkeeping as well. So whenever you get an opportunity to keep or field, you\u2019re just there,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n