Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday said Ishan Kishan’s apparent weakness against short balls is not a good sign and that the Mumbai Indians batter will be in trouble on bounce-rich pitches in Australia and South Africa.

Gavaskar’s comments came after Ishan was hit on the helmet by Dushmantha Chameera as early as the 2nd over of Mumbai Indian’s unsuccessful chase of 169 against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in Match 37 of IPL 2022.

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Ishan seemingly took his eyes off the rising ball and was struck on the helmet. The MI opener needed attention from the physios before he resumed his innings. However, it was a struggle for the young wicketkeeper-batter as he managed just 8 from 20 balls, putting pressure on his opening partner and captain Rohit Sharma, who made 39 off 31 balls.

Ishan struggled for any kind of rhythm before he got out in a bizarre manner to Ravi Bishnoi. The MI star got an inside edge when he tried to flat bat a googly from Bishnoi. The ball hit the boot of Quinton de Kock before getting deflected straight into the hands of Jason Holder at first slip. Ishan started walking off even before the umpire gave him out.

“He walked off. He had a miserable time. He just wanted to get out of the misery. Generally, when the ball is edged and it’s caught at first slip, they still wait. Here is a man who when the ball maybe even had hit the turf, he was not interested. He started to walk till the umpire told him ‘hang on, wait, let’s have a referral’. It’s just the mental situation he was in,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

NOT GOOD SIGN

Commenting on Ishan’s problems with bouncers, he added: “I think he was rattled by the blow he got. Don’t forget, in the past, he had been hit on the helmet. It actually is not a good sign because it means, in places like Australia and South Africa where there is extra bounce, he is going to be like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

“Every fast bowler is going to bang it short, nobody is going to pitch it where he likes, nothing is going to be below the waist. Anything above the waist, he is struggling at the moment.”

Notably, Ishan was taken to the hospital during a T20I match against Sri Lanka earlier this year after he was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Lahiru Kumara.

The 23-year-old got off to a good start in IPL 2022, hitting two fifties on the trot, but has struggled ever since, failing to live up to the hefty price tag of Rs 15.25 crore. Kishan has registered scores of 14, 26, 3, 13, 0, 8 since the strong start as MI are winless after playing 8 matches this season.