''I don't think the price tag will affect him too much"- Sanjay Manjrekar on Ishan Kishan

Noted pundit and former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that a massive price tag will not affect Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan as his team (Mumbai Indians) have shown 'great faith' in the southpaw.

Kishan, 23, scripted history on Saturday as he became the second-most expensive Indian player after Yuvraj Singh to be bought at the auction. He was eventually regained by Mumbai for a staggering sum of15.25 crores. He finished as the most expensive player bought on the first day of the auction.

A price tag of this magnitude brings the pressure of expectations and in the past, we have seen numerous examples of players getting buried under this weight. However, Manjrekar feels that Kishan, unlike some of the previous top-earners, is currently at the height of his powers. Speaking to Star Sports, he said:

"I don't think the price tag will affect him too much because the team has shown great faith in him. I am sure it's something they would have told him. When we talk bout huge price tags, bringing a lot of pressure, the player feels the pressure when the team is gambling on him. Someone like Nicholas Pooran (10.75 crores) can feel pressure."

"We saw how Yuvraj Singh, when he was sold for 14 crores, his own confidence went down. He was on the slide, Ishan Kishan is at the peak of the powers. He is at the same franchise, I don't think the price tag is going to affect him. I don't think Ishan Kishan will feel the pressure at all."

Kishan was expected to be one of the hottest commodities in the 2022 mega-auction due to his diverse skillset and the fact that he can keep wickets.

The Jharkhand cricketer was reluctantly let go by Mumbai ahead of the auction. However, the Ambani-owned franchise went all out to reclaim him following an intense bidding war against Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans.

"They were desperate to retain him"- Sanjay Manjrekar on Mumbai Indians

Kishan's breakout season came in 2020 when he enthralled everyone with his skills, temperament, intent and strokeplay. The left-hander smashed 516 runs in 14 innings at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 145.76 with 4 50+ scores.

Manjrekar claimed that MI have shown huge faith in Ishan by going all-out in their pursuit to regain him. The former cricketer-turned pundit said:

"Clearly what you can see is they retained four players. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard. If they could retain 5, they would have retained Ishan Kishan. They were desperate to retain him but they couldn't. But they were like, 'Come what may, we will buy him back from the market.'"

Kishan had an average season in last year's IPL, even though he somewhat made up for it during the second leg.