I won't ask for my spot when KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma are there in team: Ishan Kishan

India lost their first opening T20I match against South Africa by a big margin of seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday. New stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant lost the toss and was forced to bat first. India put up a big total of 211/4 in 20 overs, with Ishan Kishan scoring 76 runs and some explosive finishing duties by Pant and Hardik Pandya. But the Proteas middle-order players Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller scored brilliant fifties to win the match with five balls remaining.

Despite a loss, there were few positives from the Indian innings, and one was Ishan’s big fifty while opening. The 23-year-old Jharkand wicketkeeper-batter previously played in ten T20 international matches but his strike rate remained around just 120. He scored 400 plus runs in this season’s IPL tournament but was criticized for his below-average strike rate. But Ishan scored 76 off just 48 balls while opening on Thursday night to answer the questions regarding his poor strike rate.

I will give my best whenever I get my chance: Ishan Kishan

With both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul unavailable, Ishan will most probably start in the next remaining four matches as well, with plenty of matches to prove his worth. But what after the return of the full-time captain and his deputy? Both Rohit and Rahul will definitely open for India in the upcoming World Cup, and then Ishan warming the bench again. When asked about this situation in the post-match conference, Ishan seemed calm and said he was happy to step back.

“I think they (Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul) are world-class players and I won’t ask for my support when they are there in the team. So my job here is to give my best in the practice session. Whenever I get my opportunity, I have to prove myself or do well for the team. So I focus more than that about my process about what I have to do here.”

“Yeah I’ll keep doing my thing it’s up to selectors or other coaches whatever they think but my job is to you know just whenever I get my chance I will give my best,” Ishan Kishan said in a post-match press conference.