Ishan Kishan's coach Uttam Majumdar reveals his 200-ball power-hitting training and shadow batting

When the Indian team had descended in the national capital for a Twenty20 International (T20I) against South Africa in June, Uttam Majumdar's phone rang, and he was requested to visit Hotel ITC Maurya. At the other end of the call was his favourite ward, "apna baccha" (own kid), Ishan Kishan, asking him to come to the team hotel. "Ishan wanted me to come to the hotel every day when he was not training and work on his head position and body balance while facing the short ball from Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada," Majumdar, who runs his academy in Greater Noida, told PTI. He savoured his ward's fastest One-Day International (ODI) double hundred against Bangladesh.

"The hotel room became an extended net area. At least four to five days before that game, he would play the shadow pull. It was more about conditioning his mind, and he scored 76 while opening the batting," said Majumdar as he kept one eye on the television TV set at his academy and the other on the net session of the future Ishan Kishans.

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The short ball practice story is significant because in the match before that particular T20I in June, Ishan was hit on the head by a bouncer from Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara and suffered a concussion. There were questions about his technique against fast bowlers, but all doubts were dispelled by his pull shots against Bangladesh quick Ebadot Hossain, who was bowling in the mid-140s in Chattogram on Saturday.

"You know my birthday is on December 7, and this knock, it feels like my kid has presented me with a birthday gift. Ishan is 24 now, and when his father, Mr Pranav Pandey, brought him to me at the erstwhile Bihar Cricket Academy in Patna, he was just six and extremely naughty. It has been an 18-year association and full of nostalgia," Majumdar added.

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"A lot of people don't know that before the Bihar Ranji team got disbanded, I was a part of the probables and my roommate during those Ranji camps used to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was still playing for Bihar. I took up coaching while still playing active cricket," said Majumdar.

When Ishan first came with his father, his elder brother Raj Kishan was also training under Majumdar. "His elder brother Raj Kishan was a very talented cricketer. But then the parents needed to take a call that one boy would pursue sport and the other education. So, Raj being the elder, sacrificed and pursued a medical degree," he recalled.

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"The first day Ishan came for training, he was so tiny that I fed him with under-arm balls, and that kid played perfect cover drives. When I saw a few cover drives from a six-year-old, I told Pranav ji, your son is special, and he has to be unlucky if he doesn't play for India," Majumdar's voice was choked with emotion.

In later years, Majumdar and his family had shifted to Delhi NCR, but a young Ishan would always visit him to train under his first coach. "Now, when he has time off from national duty, he must report to National Cricket Academy. But earlier, when he had a bit more time, whenever he would be in NCR, he would stay at my house, train, and he is a member of my family," the proud coach said.

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What has made the coach ecstatic is the sheer execution of those ten sixes -- a few pulls, some drives, and the kind of distance each maximum covered. "You saw those ten sixes today, and what you must have realised is the kind of power he generates despite such a small frame. It hasn't happened overnight. There would be months of training when he bats two sessions and plays at least 500 to 600 balls at the nets per day. Of them, at least 200 balls were about dedicated power-hitting," Majumdar remembered.

"I would make him continuously play big shots, and he would never stop till he got it right. He is only 24, but he has seen some ups and downs. He is mentally solid. I always tell him that the past is history. For me, the past has never mattered, and that's what I always tell Ishan," Majumdar said.

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Ishan is one player Dhoni is fond of, and the former India captain has always been a sounding board for the youngster. "Even before Ishan made his India debut, I know MS would tell him that if a talent like him doesn't play for the country for a long time, he will be doing injustice, not to anyone else but himself," Majumdar concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)