Ishan Kishan speaks out after commanding Duleep Trophy victory

When Ishan Kishan walks out to bat, the image that usually springs to mind is of a left-handed batter launching huge sixes, playing brutal pull shots and putting bowlers under relentless pressure. The 28-year-old is synonymous with aggressive, explosive white-ball cricket. Yet on Tuesday, the East Zone captain made a point that he believes few are willing to accept.

"I enjoy red-ball [cricket] very much. I think people don't believe me when I say that, smiles, but it's, I'm being very honest, I really do enjoy red-ball cricket," Kishan told Cricinfo.

The wicketkeeper-batter let his team do the talking on the field too, leading East Zone to a stunning innings-and-210-run victory over North East Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru.

A rare red-ball outing

Kishan has featured in 32 ODIs, 55 T20Is and 134 IPL matches for India, but Test cricket has largely eluded him — his last of just two Test appearances came in July 2023. Despite those limited opportunities in the longest format, his affection for red-ball cricket remains undimmed.

"It's always fun to be part of it because I love that challenge when, you know, yes, it's easier to bat on flat tracks and it's fun as well, but the competition which goes around in Test match[es] is some different-level thing," he said.

The match against North East zone was Kishan's 65th first-class appearance and his first since a Ranji Trophy outing against Baroda in November 2025. In the nine months between fixtures, he packed in 59 games across international and domestic cricket, including the IPL — which made his return to the red ball a challenge in its own right.

"Situations will get tricky. It will not be easy for us as players to just move around, from white ball to red ball, red ball to white ball, change of format, change of gameplay, but that is the fun part about this game," Kishan said in Bengaluru.

On life away from the spotlight

Kishan also opened up about the unseen pressures athletes carry beyond the ropes, stressing that life can be harsh on cricketers even when their days in the middle appear straightforward.

"You need to understand, as a sportsman, life can be harsh on us. It just looks very simple, like [a] player just comes here, plays their matches, and they leave. It's not like that. They go around, they keep on thinking, there's so much going on in their head every time."

Still, he believes excuses have no place in the pursuit of greatness.

"If you want to make it big, you want to make it count, you can't have many excuses. But at the same time, I feel you should just think about getting better and not cry about things which you cannot control."

Self-criticism over a four-run dismissal

For all the team's triumph, Kishan's own contribution with the bat lasted just four runs. On his wicket, he reached for a wide delivery and attempted to steer it behind point before being caught behind. The glove-batter admitted the shot felt natural in the moment — and that he immediately regretted it.

"I was in the middle of the shot, and I was like 'what the heck I was trying to do!' I should know this is [a] Test [first-class] match and I need to leave a few balls. So I was thinking like that, but when you don't practice so much, especially when the red ball is there, things can happen."

Kishan explained that overthinking the need to leave a ball ultimately coaxed him into exactly that mistake.

"Sometimes when you think about something that you don't want to do, you end up doing it. I did not want to go to the ball and just play, so I ended up doing the same thing, because I was thinking like I don't want to do it. I was just attracting those thoughts, which was not meant to happen, but yeah."

Anukul Roy's five-for seals a famous victory

East Zone had posted 467 in their first innings before bowling North East Zone out for 91 and enforcing the follow-on. North East Zone resumed Tuesday on 7 for 0, but Anukul Roy spearheaded the attack with a five-wicket haul as the side were bowled out for 146 in 50 overs.

Kishan revealed East Zone's spinners were extracting significant turn from the surface, albeit without much bounce. The result handed them a mammoth innings-and-210-run win.

"We'll have to be on our toes"

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Kishan was far from satisfied with his side's intensity in the field and is determined to raise standards ahead of the semi-final against Central Zone, which begins on March 30.

"We played after a very long time, this match, but I feel the energy was not up to the mark — but it can happen in these matches. When we are going to play the next match, we'll have to be on our toes. We'll have to put effort, we [will] have to fight for each and every wicket. So, we'll look into it, we'll talk, we'll have a meeting, and we'll try and put up a good show in the next game."

The 2026-27 domestic red-ball season offers Kishan a fresh start, and even if the long layoff remains visible, his message is clear: he wants to make the format count — even if nobody quite believes him.