This has been a sorry tour from India in England. After coming on the back of a historic series loss to Ireland, the Indian team has been a shadow of what we saw of them at the T20 World Cup 2026. Under Shreyas Iyer, the team is yet to script a victory. But more than that, it is unbelievable how poorly the batting group has failed. Although the likes of Abhishek Sharma and captain Iyer have managed to make some runs, Ishan Kishan has been at the epicentre of India’s poor batting in Europe.
Kishan’s similar dismissals are painful
Ishan Kishan is currently the world’s number one ranked T20I batter. Deservingly so, he has nailed down that number three spot in the Indian T20I side with some remarkable performances. He made a dazzling return just before the T20 World Cup 2026 after taking his state side Jharkhand to a superb Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win. He made 517 runs at an SR of 197.33 in that tournament.
Then, questions were about how he’d play on his India return after over two years. But Kishan showed that he has found the peak of his powers. From his return in January till the T20 World Cup 2026, Kishan was the highest run-getter in T20Is around the world. No other batter had more runs than his 532, which he scored at an amazing 40.92 and 207. Kishan followed it up with another superb IPL campaign, hammering 602 runs at an SR of 182.42.
But something has happened to him ever since Kishan has entered this UK tour. Amid all the Sanju Samson vs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi buzz, Kishan’s failures have gone under the radar. The mighty southpaw has made just 79 runs at a woeful average and SR of 13.2 and 108.2 in the last six innings.
Kishan in UK tour (after IND vs ENG 4th T20I)
| Opposition | Ground | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | Dismissal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Belfast | 1 | 5 | 20.00 | Caught |
| Ireland | Belfast | 12 | 11 | 109.09 | Run Out |
| England | Chester-le-Street | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | Run Out |
| England | Manchester | 49 | 40 | 122.50 | Caught |
| England | Nottingham | 13 | 9 | 144.44 | Caught |
| England | Bristol | 4 | 6 | 66.67 | Caught |
If we leave aside Kishan’s two unlucky run-outs in Belfast and in Durham, he has been caught out on all four ocassions. Most of them, have come at short balls. The 27-year-old, who has taken his aggressive game to a whole another level, doesn’t have a major weakness against short balls. In fact, he has a great pull shot in him.
But his failure to adapt to the English conditions is what has let India down. The thing can be said about almost all the Indian batters. Kishan, in particular, has had a pattern of dismissals. Kishan’s last three dismissals tell the story of a batter who hasn’t quite figured out England yet. In the 2nd T20I he made 49 off 40 and looked set for a fifty, but Sam Curran got him with a fuller ball outside off. Kishan tried to launch it down the ground, sliced it instead, and Liam Dawson took an easy catch at extra cover. It was power without control.
Two games later in the 3rd T20I, England went short and he fell for it. Josh Tongue dug one in on the stumps in the powerplay. Kishan opened his shoulders and went for the pull, but the timing wasn’t there at all. The ball lobbed straight to deep backward square leg. He walked off shaking his head, knowing it was a soft way to get out.
Then in the 4th T20I, the pattern repeated. Tongue hit a hard length that bounced and moved away outside off. Kishan still tried to pull across the line instead of going offside. Top edge, and again Curran had time under it at short third. Three games, three catches in the deep, all trying to force shots against bounce and movement. In England you have to ride the extra carry and pick your areas.
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