"Bleed Blue": Excited Ishan Kishan shares picture with Team India jersey, poses with teammates

Talented batsman Ishan Kishan has shared a picture wearing the Team India jersey, posing with teammates Rohit Sharma, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.

Ishan Kishan earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team when he was selected in the squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England.

Taking to his official Instagram handle, Ishan Kishan posted a picture with his Team India mates, looking visibly excited. He captioned the image:

“Bleed Blue” and also included a blue heart emoji.

The five-match T20I series between India and England will begin on March 12 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. All five matches of the series will be played at the same venue, keeping COVID-19 restrictions in mind.

The series is being viewed as preparation for the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India later this year.

India go into the T20I series having hammered England 3-1 in the four-match Test series.

Ishan Kishan impressed in IPL 2020

One of the major reasons for Ishan Kishan’s call up to the Indian T20I side was his performance for defending champions Mumbai Indians in last year’s edition of the IPL.

In 14 matches, Ishan Kishan hammered 516 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 145.76 and an average of 57.33. The 22-year-old hit four fifties in IPL 2020, including a best of 99.

With skipper Rohit Sharma injured, Ishan Kishan stepped up to open the innings and made an immediate impact with his aggressive strokeplay.

Last month, the wicketkeeper-batsman also smashed 173 from 94 balls (19 fours, 11 sixes) while opening the innings for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

However, according to former India cricketer VVS Laxman, Ishan Kishan might not get a chance to prove his worth in the T20I series against England. During an interaction on the Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Laxman explained:

"I would love to see Rishabh Pant back in the mix, batting at No.5 and then you have got Hardik Pandya at No.6. So, I don't see Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan or for that matter (Rahul) Tewatia getting a chance but whenever they get a chance I am sure all of them will perform and play to the best of their abilities.”

Test series done and dusted, time to put on the Blues as we get set for the T20s against England#INDVsENG #RP17 pic.twitter.com/SvZ868gMSN

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) March 10, 2021

Ishan Kishan has featured in 95 T20 games so far and has 2372 runs to his credit at a strike rate of 133.48. He has notched up two 100-plus scores in the shortest format.