The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction’s costliest buy Ishan Kishan was advised by current India captain Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli not to lose sleep over something which is not under his control. This because the high price-tag brings with it enormous pressure.

Mumbai Indians re-bought Ishan from the auction at a staggering Rs 15.25 crore but so far, there hasn’t been return on the investment with the Jharkhand dasher accumulating only 321 runs.

Kishan agreed that price-tag pressure does play on one’s mind for the first few days but his Team India seniors have specifically told him not to fret too much over the issue. “Price tag pressure will remain for a few days but when one feels the pressure, it’s always good to speak to the seniors and share your worries,” Kishan said ahead of MI’s match against Chennai Super Kings.

“So many seniors like Rohit (Sharma), Virat bhai (Virat Kohli) and Hardik bhai (Pandya) said I should not think about the price tag, because this is not something I have asked for.

“They have bid that amount because they believed (in me).

“Instead of thinking about price-tag, it is important I think about improving my game. It helped that I spoke to the seniors as they all have been through that phase and could relate with what I wa feeling.”

He does feel a touch lighter after his conversations with Rohit and Virat. “Now I feel light and the price-tag is secondary now. It’s immaterial if you are sold for a base price of Rs 1 crore or for a premium bid of Rs 15.25 core. What is important is to help your team win and also help others in achieving that goal.”

Kishan said that skipper Rohit and head coach Mahela Jayawardene asked him to play his natural game.

“The captain and the coach asked me to play my (natural) game. Everyone has roles in the team and for me it was giving good starts and if I am set, then I have to try not to get out in 30s and 40s and convert them into big scores,” said the left-handed batter.