Often, some requests from fans tend to catch Indian cricketers off-guard. One such incident was experienced by Ishan Kishan, who was taken aback by a fan’s bizarre autograph request.
As stars, Indian cricketers come across countless fan requests every day. From clicking selfies to autographs, the euphoria of your average Indian cricket fan has no equal. But often, some requests tend to catch the cricketers off-guard. One such incident was experienced by Ishan Kishan, who was taken aback by a fan’s bizarre autograph request. The India youngster, who became the toast of the nation following his double-century against Bangladesh in the 3rd ODI last week, was in his home town in Ranchi where while posing with fans, he encountered an awkward situation.
A fan, going by the name of Randhir Kumar, wanted Ishan’s autograph. And while this may be a very usual fan request, this was an exception altogether. The thing is, the object where the fan wanted the autograph was on the back of his mobile phone, and what stumped Ishan was the fact that the phone already had a signature of the legendary MS Dhoni on it. Despite being crammed for space, the fan was adamant on receiving signatures. Ishan, out of respect for Dhoni, clearly mentioned that he could not sign on the same space as the former India captain but the fan finally managed to have his way. The entire incident was captured by veteran sports journalist Vimal Kumar and uploaded on his YouTube channel.
“Mahi bhai ka hai signature and he wants my autograph on top of his. I can’t do it. Let’s do one thing. Why take it on a phone. I would autograph it on some other nice thing,” Ishan said, but when the fan still did not budge, the 23-year-old added “It will remain with you, but how will I sign on the same pace as Dhoni bhai? These are his signatures; How can I write anything on top of it?”
After much deliberation, the fan convinced Ishan to sign on the space on offer below Dhoni’s signatures. The India opener, after hesitating, went ahead, and said, “We haven’t reached that level yet. I will sign below it? Alright. There you go.”
Upon being enquired, the fan explained his reason behind getting Ishan and Dhoni’s signatures on his phone. “I wanted to get his signatures on my phone. It is a little unique and since both are stars of Jharkhand, I had to do it. There are many people who might have both Dhoni and Ishan’s autograph. I have seen Ishan since he started playing Under-16. It has been 5-6 years for me working here so I have been knowing him. He still respects this ground. It felt really nice. I even know Dhoni sir, not personally but I do see him here often.”
Last week, Ishan broke Chris Gayle’s record for scoring the fastest-ever double century in the history of ODI cricket, brining up his 200 off just 126 balls. He joined Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma as only the fourth India batter to record an ODI double.
