TOI Exclusive | Trusting your inner voice is what it’s all about: Sai Kishore

“My role has been clearly mentioned and that is to provide control to the captain,” Sai Kishore said. “It becomes easy for any player to play to his full potential when the role is mentioned.”

When it comes to executing that control, he relies heavily on reading the game dynamically rather than sticking to a rigid script. “A lot depends on player to player, situation to situation. In what situation, what you’re trying to do. Let’s say if some batter is very settled, you would want to take him off strike, be more defensive to him. Somebody is new to the crease, you try and get his wicket. It is all about your decision-making skills at that moment, on that day, on that kind of wicket. So, if you have that instinct, it’s easy to manage between when to attack and when to defend,” he said.

In an era where T20 cricket is heavily driven by analytics and match-ups, Sai Kishore, who has previously captained Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, believes that numbers only tell half the story.

“No matter what kind of data you follow, your instincts always precede,” he said. “Because, at that moment, what you feel is what you’re gonna do. Data is important, knowing the game is important, but at the same time trusting your instincts, your inner voice is what this game is all about.”

Sai Kishore has already tasted international success, making his T20I debut during India’s gold medal-winning run at the 2023 Asian Games, where he famously claimed 3/12 against Bangladesh in the semifinals. However, he hasn’t been able to break into the Indian team again in any format. Rather than obsessing over a national call-up, his philosophy revolves around self-improvement and “absolute” preparation.

“To be relevant as a spinner, especially in India, you have to be able to hold yourself in all three facets of the game. You have to be a brilliant fielder, you have to be decent with the bat, which is not a very easy task. So, in that desire to play for the country, you naturally improve yourself to be a better cricketer.

“I feel I just have to make my garden very beautiful. I have to keep working on my game and be ready with the skill sets. And whenever a chance comes... more often than not when you’re absolutely ready, the chance comes. I think it will just happen on its own accord,” he said.

“Until then, I want to enjoy my game. I want to be very happy mentally, skillfully, emotionally, physically and everything.”