"There is no fielder, hit him for a six"- Virat Kohli's message to Ishan Kishan on international debut

After belting runs in domestic cricket and in the IPL, Ishan Kishan finally got his due last year when he made his international debut in the 2nd T20I against England in Ahmedabad.

Chasing 165 runs, Ishan opened the innings alongside KL Rahul. However, the hosts got off to a poor start, losing Rahul in the first over. In walked Virat Kohli, who had advised Ishan Kishan to take on Jofra Archer from the very first ball.

Throwing light on the incident at 'Breakfast with Champions', Ishan revealed:

"I opened with KL [Rahul] bhai when he got out Kohli bhai came. So when I was facing my first ball he was there. The first thing he said to me when [Jofra] Archer was bowling,'look, there is no fielder there, hit him for a six.' I said, 'Umm, that's Archer.'"

The southpaw added:

"But the way he said it, I felt he was right. I should smash Archer, that's the zone I entered. And I got a boundary off the first ball. I was just happy about that, international first boundary Archer."

Ishan eventually scored 56 runs off 32 balls, including five boundaries and four sixes to set up India's victory. Kohli was unbeaten on 73 to see India through.

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"Bro, what's the plan?" - Dhawan to Ishan Kishan on his ODI debut

The 23-year-old wicket-keeper batter also had an explosive debut in the one-day internationals. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka last year when the first-choice cricketers were busy with the Test series in England.

Speaking to Gaurav Kapoor, Ishan revealed Shikhar Dhawan's words after he struck a six and boundary in the first two balls of ODI cricket. Ishan Kishan said:

"Before going out, I had said the first ball is going to be a six. People think that it's the first ball in international cricket, so let’s play it safe. But, I was thinking, time's have changed and it's got to (be) big. Then the next ball I hit for four. Shikhar Dhawan came up and said 'bro, what's the plan?' I just said I'm seeing the ball and hitting it."

The southpaw scored a vital 59 runs as India chased down 262 runs set by the Islanders in Colombo.

He is currently representing five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. Mumbai have lost both their games but Ishan has had a blazing start, scoring two half-centuries in as many matches.