Mumbai Indians, the five-time winners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy, remained curiously quiet throughout a major part of the IPL mega auction earlier this month in Bengaluru. But their first buy at the auction went for a whopping INR 15.25 crore as they bought back the young Ishan Kishan.
_1645510650402_1645510660658.jpg)
Although it was a grand homecoming for the 23-year-old Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, Ishan admitted that he was a bit worried during the IPL auction bidding war, saying that his heart had skipped a beat.
Speaking to Times of India, Ishan revealed that he was tensed as the price went up as he knew MI wanted to build a strong team before revealing the reason behind why he wanted to make a comeback into the Mumbai Indians squad.
“I knew MI would go for me. That wasn't the worrying bit. The worrying part was the rising price because MI needed to save on money to build the rest of the team. It wasn't just about me. For a minute there, I must admit, my heart skipped a beat,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“I knew MI would go for me. That wasn't the worrying bit. The worrying part was the rising price because MI needed to save on money to build the rest of the team. It wasn't just about me. For a minute there, I must admit, my heart skipped a beat,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“There's a reason why I wanted to come back to MI. They know me, they understand my game and I know my franchise and how it works. Because I've been part of this family, I was sure I didn't want to go anywhere else. I've been here four years and the bonding has been amazing. We've won two trophies, stood for each other and with each other, they know my cricket and I know they will take care of me. So, I didn't want to go anywhere else."
Ishan, who had earlier played for presently-defunct Gujarat Lions, had joined Mumbai Indians in 2018 when he was roped in for NR 6.2 crores. In 41 innings for the franchise, he scored 1133 runs at 31.5 and with a strike rate of 138.5. In the 2020 season of the IPL, Ishan had finished as the highest run-getter for Mumbai, scoring 516 runs in 14 games.
“The franchise has always been very helpful, has backed me and worked on me. I can never have complaints. All I need to do is work hard on my game, reciprocate by playing good cricket. The way they've put their belief in me and invested in my future, all I need to do is follow the processes that have been laid out,” he added.