CHENNAI: In a span of less than 24 hours, Ishan Kishan went from locking down an IPL playoff spot for Sunrisers Hyderabad to reclaiming his place in India’s ODI setup after almost three years.Just a day after producing a fluent ‘Player of the Match’ performance (70 off 47b; 7×4, 3×6) in SRH’s five-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings on a sluggish surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the wicketkeeper-batter was named in India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, replacing Rishabh Pant.Ironically, the last ODI Ishan played for India had also come against Afghanistan in Oct 2023, before his career hit a turbulent phase. What followed was a classic comeback arc. Ishan did the domestic grind, forced his way back into the international fold, and went on to play a pivotal role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph.And during the T20 World Cup, the elegant southpaw had said that he was a “changed man now.” That newfound maturity formed the bedrock of his knock against CSK on Monday.Arriving at No. 3 in the third over of the chase, on a deck where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat easily, Ishan paced his innings brilliantly alongside Heinrich Klaasen. By the time he fell in the 19th over, SRH were just six runs away from sealing a playoff berth.“When I was keeping, I just felt like this surface was not going to be easy. I felt chasing this total (181) is going to be a bit too much. As a No. 3 batter, I felt my job was to just try and finish the game. So, it was just about being there and believing in yourself. Sometimes the situation is difficult, but we all know how these games are won…you need to believe in yourself. So, I was just keeping it simple and trying to play till the last over.” said Ishan after the match.SRH assistant coach James Franklin, too, lauded the southpaw for his effort. “I think Ishan has been brilliant for us this season. So far in this year’s IPL, that was probably his best innings because the conditions were different to the flat surfaces that we play on. Today the batters had to craft their innings in a different way and I thought Ishan’s innings was just full of maturity,” the Kiwi said.

Ishan rubs salt into CSK wounds

After pushing CSK to the brink, Ishan rubbed further salt into their wounds with a whistle-blowing gesture towards the Chepauk crowd before cheekily signalling the sea of yellow fans towards the exits. The celebrations quickly went viral and sparked plenty of banter online. Later in the night, he twisted the knife further on Instagram: “Only thing louder than the whistles was the bat. Into the playoffs,” read his caption.