Ishan Kishan doesn’t pause for a second when asked about the phase when he was dropped from the India team, told to go back to the domestic circuit and fight his way up again.

“Mujhe mazaa aagaya (I enjoyed it),” he says. The two years that he spent out of the national set-up has ensured India has got to see the best version of Ishan, one who is not just adventurous and daring, but also responsible.

Having missed out on a big score in the two previous matches of the Duleep Trophy, the East Zone made up for it with 270 against South Zone in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. The attack didn’t test him much, the pitch was on the flatter side, and Ishan ensured he got the job done. Having made a comeback into India’s white-ball set-up, Ishan felt it was the domestic grind that helped him evolve as a batsman.

“I genuinely enjoyed it,” Ishan said about his time with Jharkhand. “I went back, had to grind and work hard for about two years. But sometimes, when we play regularly for India, you just keep playing in a flow. You might be a very good player which is why you’re playing for India, but your growth stagnates at a certain point,” the 28-year-old said.

That moment when Ishan Kishan reached 2️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ 👏👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/KQf5Km69nk#DuleepTrophy | #SZvEZ pic.twitter.com/6YJYiwNtjV

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 7, 2026

“So when you take a step back and return to domestic cricket, you start from zero again. You start thinking, ‘I need to get even better,’ because today, there are so many players scoring runs. To get back into the team, your only option is to perform much better than them.”

The wicketkeeper said that more than technique, it is the mindset tweak that has helped him. “You get time to reflect on what you missed earlier, why you couldn’t convert your starts into big scores. The batting doesn’t change that much; it’s just the mindset that changes over time. When you process these things and keep working hard, and then make a comeback, you rarely think about things like ‘I will smash this, I will hit him like that.’ You stay in the moment, taking it one over at a time, or one ball at a time. You remain relaxed and just play,” Ishan added.

Ishan Kishan was at the crease for 522 minutes, where he faced 334 deliveries for his 270, which included 30 boundaries and seven sixes. (TNCA Photo)

Mature innings

From the time Ishan walked into the middle, the South Zone attack tried different ways to frustrate him. First up, they laid a short-ball trap and bowled with a heavy leg-side field and on Monday, when Tripurana Vijay bowled, there were just two fielders on the off-side.

But Ishan didn’t try to manufacture strokes. He was prepared to grind it out. “I was extremely focused because I couldn’t afford to gift them my wicket. When they are trying tactics because the pitch isn’t offering much, trying to bait me into doing something rash, that is when I refuse to make mistakes. The longer we drag them out and tire them, the easier it will be for us to score runs later on.” he said.

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With 708 runs on the board, East Zone are firmly in control of the final. With the red soil pitch starting to take turn, South Zone have an uphill task to come anywhere close to a first innings lead.

“We batted for two days. We know this is essentially a one-innings game. So our primary task is to take the first 10 wickets,” he said.