Bengaluru, October 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has played down discussions about his status as the world’s top-ranked T20I batter, saying he prefers to focus on his performance and enjoy high-pressure situations ahead of the fifth and deciding T20I against the West Indies at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

With the five-match series level at 2-2, Kishan said he was not concerned about his position in the rankings at this stage of his career. Persistent rain delayed the start of pre-match warm-ups, with the contest also marking the first international match in Bengaluru in two years.

“At this early stage in my life, I don’t want to look into stats where I stand, if I’m a number one batter or I’m a number 100 batter. It’s just one game at a time. You try to play your best cricket,” Kishan said during a pre-match interaction with the broadcasters.

He added that focusing too much on rankings could create unnecessary expectations about how he should play.

“You just need to go in the middle and enjoy as much as you can. Especially in situations like a decider, where there is pressure, you need to enjoy those moments, leave everything aside, and that’s how we prepare here,” he said.

Kishan described the team’s mindset ahead of the series decider as balanced, saying the players were neither overly tense nor too relaxed. He added that the team was relishing the opportunity to compete in a high-stakes match.

“It’s somewhere in the middle of both. But I know it’s a decider game. We have not been in this situation recently, and I’m happy to be in this situation because a decider always comes with pressure and expectations,” he said.

The left-hander stressed that the team was in a positive frame of mind and eager to deliver its best performance.

“You don’t want to be in a situation where it doesn’t matter so much. So, very much happy to be in this situation. The most important thing is that we all look in a good frame of mind, which is important for each player, and we look to just play good cricket,” Kishan added.

He said the message in the dressing room was to focus on execution rather than worry about the eventual result. Kishan emphasised aggression, intent and a winning attitude as key elements of India’s approach.

“It’s just about playing your best game and not thinking about what’s going to happen. The message is simple: just play your game, have that aggression in the field, have that intent, have that winning attitude, and just play your best game,” he said.

India’s bowlers have faced challenges against the West Indies batting line-up throughout the series. However, Kishan declined to attribute the team’s difficulties solely to batting-friendly pitches or the performance of individual players, calling instead for a collective effort.

“To be very honest, I feel the wickets have also been very good here. But at the same time, there’s always room for improvement. We cannot always blame the wickets or everything. As a team, we need to work together,” he said.

Kishan stressed that the team needed to stand together regardless of individual performances and focus on understanding the opposition’s approach.

“It’s not like someone had a bad day and we’ll say whatever happened was because of that particular guy. It’s our preparation, it’s the team’s preparation we look into, and all of us need to be together at any point of time,” he said.

He added that India would need to assess how the West Indies were approaching the game, remain aware of the conditions and execute their plans effectively.

The series decider presents India with an opportunity to secure the five-match contest, while the West Indies will look to claim the series after drawing level at 2-2.