Latest revision as of 17:21, 30 March 2021

[edit] A brief biography

[edit] The early years, till 2021 March

Pratyush Raj, March 16, 2021: The Times of India

After Ishan Kishan blazed his way to 56 in the second T20I against England at Motera, comparisons started with another big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman from Jharkhand, the legendary MS Dhoni.

However, Kishan is a Patna boy and could not play for Bihar as the state was barred from playing in Ranji Trophy. People celebrating outside Kishan’s residence on Ambedkar Path in Patna did not like the fact that Murali Kartik introduced Kishan as a Jharkhand player, revealed Kishan’s father Pramod Kumar Pandey.

Kishan’s journey started 17 years ago when he accompanied his elder brother Raj to the Bihar Cricket Academy at the Moin-ul-Haq Cricket Stadium in Patna. Uttam Mazumdar, who was the head coach at the academy, rejected him because of his age. But Raj insisted that the coach let him play a few balls otherwise he would start crying.

“He was so small that we didn’t have a pad of his size. I threw a couple of baSlls to him and he kept smashing them with a straight bat. I thanked God for giving me a chance to coach this prodigy,” recollected Mazumdar.

In the evening, when Pramod came on his scooter to pick his sons, Mazumdar told him to find a proper kit for his son. “‘Your son is gifted, and I am sure he will play for India’. When Mazumdar sir told me this, I thought he was joking, but the next day he came to my house in the morning and said, let’s go and get a kit for Ishan,” recalled Pramod.

A couple of years later, at the age of seven, Kishan was selected for the Bihar U-16 team to play in School Games Federation of India’s tournament (SGFI). He didn’t play in any match due to his short stature, but two years down the line, he became the Bihar U-16 captain.

“He was a boy wonder. He used to smash fast bowlers double his age at the tender age of 10. I vividly remember, he had a fan following during the Moin-ul-Haq tournament. Around 80 to 90 people used to visit the academy only to see him bat,” said Mazumdar.

Mazumdar moved to Noida in 2009 as his father was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Before leaving Patna, he called up friends in Steel Authority of India (SAIL) in Ranchi and got Kishan enrolled in the academy there.

Kishan dedicated his innings against England to his coach’s father, who died on March 4. “My father was very close to Ishan. They bonded over fish,” reminisced Mazumdar.