Ishan Kishan reveals SECRET to handling controversial Usman Tariq

Ishan Kishan’s fifty powered India to their biggest ever win in yesterday T20 World Cup 2026 match against Namibia by 93 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

India.com at T20 World Cup 2026: Team Indian opener Ishan Kishan slammed a blazing fifty off only 20 balls in yesterday’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Kishan hammered record 28 runs in JJ Smit’s over, including four successive sixes but was dismissed off the first ball bowled by Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus.

While Suryakumar Yadav’s side might have posted a comfortable 93-run win – their biggest-ever in T20 World Cup history – but his team’s batters struggled to deal with the unorthodox action of Erasmus which was being compared to controversial Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq. Team India are set to face arch-rivals Pakistan next in a Group A match at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

Erasmus ended up taking 4/20 in 4 overs, varying his action to a low side-arm to a high-arm regular delivery. Ishan Kishan was asked in the post-match press conference in New Delhi whether facing Erasmus was a good ‘preparation’ for taking on Usman Tariq.

“No, I think we have already done the preparation part and now it’s just time to watch the ball and play our natural game. So if the ball is there, as a batter, we just feel like going in because it’s a T20 game. And we are trying to set a good total on board. But we do have to believe in our strength as well,” Ishan Kishan said about facing Pakistan’s Usman Tariq.

Add India.com as a Preferred Source

Tariq has managed to pick up 11 wickets in just 4 T20I matches till date, including 3/27 on his T20 World Cup 2026 debut against USA earlier this week. “There’s nothing like you have to prepare. I think at this level, we just watch few videos and we get an idea of what kind of bowling is going to happen. So we’re just keeping it simple. Yeah, he bowled pretty well today and I think there was a quite bit of learning for us for our team as well today,” Kishan, who top-scored for India with 61 off 24 balls against Namibia, said.

“I’m a changed Man now”
:- Ishan Kishan in the post match press conference in Delhi #IshanKishan pic.twitter.com/8zBvX81cUB
— Ayush Cricket (@AyushCricket32) February 13, 2026

The Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper has edged ahead of Sanju Samson on the basis of his explosive batting since returning to the T20I side in the series against New Zealand. Kishan ended the series with a strike-rate of over 231 while notching up his maiden T20I hundred as well.

Pakistan clash will be a special one for everyone: Ishan Kishan

The 27-year-old Jharkhand star, who broke MS Dhoni’s record to become the first-ever Indian wicketkeeper to score a fifty in a T20 World Cup match, was full of confidence heading into the match against Pakistan on Sunday.

“100 per cent getting runs is always a good thing for batters and we have been doing well from previous series as well when we were playing against New Zealand. So all these matches that we played, there was a lot of learning, a lot of confidence which we gained from those matches.

“But, Pakistan clash, obviously, it would be a special one for everyone. So we’re not just thinking so much about the future game. But yeah, once we get there, we look at the wicket and we have an idea of what sort of match is going to happen and what will be a good total and we’ll just play accordingly,” Kishan said at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.

Need to trust your strength against bowlers like Gerhard Erasmus: Ishan Kishan

The Indian opener revealed that it is important for a batter to stick to his strengths when facing unorthodox bowlers like Gerhard Erasmus and Usman Tariq.

“It (the action) might play in your head for a couple of balls, but I think at this level you need to have trust on your own strength as well. Even if he is trying to do something, we can go for sixes or boundaries at the same time.

“So important thing is how we are thinking at that point of time when the bowler is trying to do something different. But if we are just looking for boundaries and sixes and we are believing in our own strength I think that helps the batters more so we are just doing trying to keep it simple yeah some batters might score on some batters won’t but it’s part of game,” Kishan felt.

For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/