IPL 2025: Ishan Kishan Opens up About Move From MI to SRH, Picks Favourite Cricketer & Talks Fearless Cricket

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has opened up about his move from Mumbai Indians to Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash between the two sides at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday (April 17).

After seven seasons of playing for the five-time champions, Kishan returns to familiar territory to face his former side in a sea of blue with an orange and black attire. Any big money buy at the IPL auction brings questions about adaptation, but Ishan Kishan painted a picture of a smooth and welcoming transition into the Sunrisers Hyderabad fold.

The 26-year-old, who was a Rs 11.25 crore buy in the last mega auction by SRH, expressed positive initial impressions, highlighting the warm reception he received from the franchise management, the coaching staff led by figures like captain Pat Cummins and head coach Daniel Vettori, and his new teammates.

"When I got here, I got those goosebumps suddenly looking at everything orange here in Hyderabad, because I was with Mumbai Indians for the last seven years. But this is a very new experience, Kishan said exclusively on JioHotstar's special show 'Gen Bold'.

"Looking forward to it. And at the same time, looking at how Sunrisers Hyderabad is playing right now and the atmosphere I saw in the team is totally different from what I expected. There is a lot of calmness. There is a lot of clarity among everyone. Everyone is very helpful here. So I'm loving it till now."

SRH have already been involved in high-scoring games this season with Ishan also scoring a century on his debut for the team against Rajasthan Royals. The Hyderabad-based side scored 286 in their opener before they chased down 246 in their most recent game against Punjab Kings.

There have been mixed opinions on their approach as they have suffered four defeats in six with their highly-rate explosive batting order failing to step up in the four matches. Ishan, who is big fan of the brand, explained how the whole team is in line with Cummins' idea of attacking cricket.

"Fearless cricket is not just about going out there and hitting every ball. It starts when your captain believes in that kind of approach for the team. I feel all the other team members are right behind him (Pat Cummins), ready to play the same way he wants us to," Kishan added.

"When your captain brings that kind of clarity to the team, it becomes easy to play fearless cricket. We just play the way we're used to - and we'll go in with that same approach."

With their fearless brand of cricket seeing totals reach very closs to the 300 landmark, Kishan elaborated how SRH can get to the magical number that's being talked about before every SRH contest.

"When you're chasing, you have a target in mind. But when you're batting first, you just play the ball. And then you decide where you can go after the first six overs and how good you are on that wicket. So I don't want to be very particular with the score. But let's see. If we get a good start, then why not?"

While he has shared most of his batting days opening alongside Rohit Sharma for India and Mumbai idnaisn, Kishan picked former India all-rounder and current superstar batter "Generation Gold" cricketer and his all-time favourites.

"When it comes to Generation Gold, I'll say Yuvraj Singh is a Generation Gold player. And talking about my favourite players, it was always a mixture of a bunch of players. So when I was 18, it was Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Sir. Right now, my favourite is Virat Kohli. I'd like to learn all his shots. Maybe I can play a cover drive like him," Kishan said.