Wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan asserted that social media negativity has become normal for him. With the emergence of social media, we have seen several players get unnecessary online hate, which Kishan feels people should not make a huge fuss about and accept that it’s not in their control. Kishan has been out of the Indian team since the start of the year and was trolled on social media when he lost his BCCI central contract.

Kishan was last part of the India squad during the tour of South Africa in 2023, which he had left midway.

The batter had reportedly taken a personal break, which did not go down well with the BCCI.

After the player decided to skip the domestic competitions in the run-up to the IPL, the BCCI dropped him from the central contract, for prioritising” the cash-rich league e over domestic cricket.

The wicketkeeper batter talked about social media, saying it has pros and cons and suggesting that negativity turns into praise when the player starts performing well.

“I feel negativity will be there on social media. People will troll you if you don’t do well and that is very normal. I feel every sportsperson should accept that this is going to happen and you shouldn’t make a huge fuss about it. I feel you should enjoy that also because at the end of the day, you know what when you perform then the same set of people will praise you also,” Kishan told Times of India.

Kishan further gave the example of Hardik Pandya, who was trolled heavily during IPL 2024 after he rejoined Mumbai Indians as captain and was faced with online hate from the fans, but he redeemed himself with his all-round performances in the T20 World Cup.

“That happened with Hardik also. People were trolling him also but he just did his work, performed well in the World Cup and now you can see the result. So this is how it should be… negativity will be there but you have to find that neutral point so that you take everything in a very sporting way,” he added.

‘You can’t control social media’: Ishan Kishan

The swashbuckling batter said that he also advises young cricketers to not take social media seriously and try to be away from it.

“You can’t control social media. Jo bhi chalega… it’s okay. I feel you don’t have to get too much into this social media also. When I speak to younger guys who are getting into big teams, I tell them the same thing to please try and be away from social media,” he concluded.