Ishan Kishan's coach recalls Dhoni's praise for Bihar batsman, 'MS said if he doesn't...'

Ishan Kishan on Sunday scripted history as he became the fourth Indian batter to smash a double century in One-Day Internationals. The 24-year-old scored 210 off 131 balls in the 3rd ODI against Bangladesh to help his team post a mammoth total of 409 runs.

With the feat, Kishan became the youngest batter in the history of the game to score a double hundred in ODI cricket. He also broke the record of West Indies legend Chris Gayle to become the quickest to score an ODI double ton. Kishan took just 126 balls to reach the 200-run mark. 

What did Dhoni say about Kishan?

Uttam Majumdar, Kishan's childhood coach, delved deeply into the wicketkeeper-batter's training regime and also revealed what former India captain MS Dhoni would tell the Bihar youngster before he made his India debut. Majumdar recalled that Dhoni would tell Kishan that if a talent like him doesn't play for India for a long time then he would be doing injustice to himself.

Majumdar was a probable player for the Bihar Ranji team before he began coaching. Back then, he shared a room with Dhoni, a member of the Bihar Ranji squad.

"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 was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

"You saw those 10 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 would bat two sessions and play at least 500 to 600 balls at the nets per day. Out of them, at least 200 balls were about dedicated power-hitting", he said.

As far as the match is concerned, India scored 409/8 batting first courtesy of a tonne of runs from Kishan and Virat Kohli, who scored his 72nd international century on Sunday. India then bowled Bangladesh out for 182 runs, winning the match by a huge margin of 227 runs. Kishan was named the player of the match for his outstanding knock.  

Image: Twitter/BCCI/ANI