'It's about hitting the next ball for 4 or 6': Manjrekar says players like Kishan, Pant 'not worried about getting out'

After India wrapped up the second T20I against England on Sunday, Virat Kohli used the adjective 'fearless' to describe Ishan Kishan and his blazing half-century on debut. The word also symbolizes the brand of cricket India play, which to be honest, wouldn't have been possible without how captain Virat Kohli has changed the outlook of the team. From senior pros like Shikhar Dhawan to youngsters such as Hardik Pandya or Rishabh Pant, players of the Indian cricket team are ready for any challenge thrown at them.

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Weighing on the same, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar feels players like Ishan and Pant in particular demonstrate exactly that, and the pattern in the batting suggests that youngsters of this Indian team are not worried about losing their wickets and instead focus on backing their instincts to get results.

"The thing to like about Ishan Kishan is that he is an excellent player of spin. But more importantly, what is exciting me is that these are batsmen who are not afraid to get out. Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan… they are not looking to extend their innings. No long-term plans. It's just about hitting that next ball for fours and six, and if it is their day, they will get you a big score," Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.

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"If they don't play long enough, they will put you in a position like this where the other batsmen will come and wrap things up. That's where I think Indian T20 batting might start showing a different phase where most of their batsmen won't be caring about getting out and playing long innings."

Ishan's selection comes on the back of a successful season for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020, where the youngster scored over 500 runs. Manjrekar feels the way Ishan batted on Sunday had plenty of shades of MI in it, which he feels has entered the Indian through him, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Manjrekar was also impressed with Ishan's pull shot, analysing it to be a lot different than the rest.

"He was fortunate to get a ball on his pads first up, to get that first boundary so runs on the board is always good. But you saw the Mumbai Indians approach that Ishan Kishan has all the time batting down the order and not necessarily at the top, and that came into the Indian team today," Manjrekar added.

"He is a formidable batsman for any bowler purely because if you pitch it up to him, he can hit you straight into the crowd. Bowl it short, he can pull you in the stands. And the pull that he plays is not an instinctive one kind of pull, one style that a lot of Indian batsmen play. His pull is not an inherent shot that we grow up playing. He actually picks his spots when he's playing the pull shot."