Ishan Kishan recalls his feelings during IPL 2022 mega auction

Indian star wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan already knew that Mumbai Indians (MI) will bid for him at the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction. The left-handed batter also revealed that he wished to go back to his former franchise as MI understands his game. Notably, Kishan was the most expensive player at this season’s bidding event as MI bought him for a whooping INR 15.25 crore.

The 23-year old batter so far in IPL career has played 61 matches. Kishan, who has been associated with MI since 2018, has scored 1,452 runs with an average of 28.47 and a strike rate of 136.34. The youngster has nine fifties under his name with his highest score of 99 runs coming against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2020 IPL. With Kishan being a proven match-winner for the side, MI didn’t mind splashing a big amount to get him on board.

I knew MI would go for me: Ishan Kishan

In an interview with Times of India Ishan Kishan said, “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.”

“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,” he added.

Meanwhile, IPL 2022 is slated to start from next month. Five-time champions MI will look on to extend their dominance in the tournament under the leadership of skipper Rohit Sharma. The franchise managed to bag their core squad in the auction after retaining Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.