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Ishan Kishan, the Sunrisers Hyderabad star’s rise in the IPL, has been backed by Ambati Rayudu; however, the former star suggested that his timely switch from the MI team has led to his widespread success.
Mumbai Indians have struggled in recent times, but Ishan Kishan’s switch ahead of the 2025 mega-auction seemed to have cost them big time, as the batter evolved as one of the staunch performers in the following IPL season.
After some patience reserved by the Sunrisers Hyderabad management, the ex-MI star who parted ways with them after seven years helped them with a massive run-scoring spree in the 2026 season, as he amassed 550+ runs.
Ambati Rayudu credited Ishan Kishan’s switch from MI to SRH for his tremendous success
Kishan’s rise to dominance in 2026 came after a glorious domestic run and an international comeback for India. Immediately after his resurgence to the Indian team, he amassed over 300 runs in a World Cup and was part of the title-winning Indian squad.
Ambati Rayudu, the former MI star who featured for them between 2009 and 2017, claimed that a move on from the Mumbai Indians to the Sunrisers Hyderabad helped Ishan Kishan bolster his campaign.
“But for someone like him [Kishan],” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo Time Out, “growing up in a franchise like Mumbai, he wants to be a superstar—he is a superstar in his own right now—but back then to compete against all the stars around him would have been very, very tough.
I’m sure he has learned, and he has learned it the hard way- Rayudu opined on Kishan’s switch
Modern-day T20 cricket standards have honestly been interesting for batters; however, many batters have failed to switch between their aggressive and sensible handles. They have gone all out to score as many runs as possible, but have often lost several wickets in their attempt to do so.
Rayudu explains that many players don’t know how to switch between the two modes, and it was a big challenge for the left-handed batter as well. However, Ishan Kishan has learned it in this season of the IPL.
“Those guys know when to switch on in terms of their game, when to come back. But a lot of these young boys don’t know how to switch off and how to switch on. That’s a big challenge, and I’m sure he has learned, and he has learned it the hard way,” said the ex-MI star.
Rayudu thinks “Jharkhand captaincy” transformed Kishan into a better batter
Ishan Kishan, who has amassed 569 runs across 14 matches this season, has led his team into the playoffs. He has had successful runs since the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph with Jharkhand. He has since then been winning all competitions as a player and a captain. Rayudu claimed that Kishan’s successful domestic run has helped him improve his shot selection.
“His shot selection has improved big time,” Rayudu said. “In his initial years, we have seen him make some wrong decisions in terms of shot selection. But here we saw him making the right call most of the time.
“I think his captaincy for Jharkhand made him realize a lot of things about his own game as well. Sometimes when you get captaincy, people transform into better batsmen, and he is one of them who has massively improved in terms of clarity,” he added.
