'I don't want to look into stats': Ishan Kishan shrugs off no. 1 T20I tag ahead of West Indies series decider

With a series on the line and the pressure of a high-stakes decider mounting, Ishan Kishan has made it clear that rankings will not dictate his approach. The India wicketkeeper-batter, currently the world's top-ranked T20I batter, said he would rather focus on playing his natural game and enjoying the challenge than allow statistics to shape his mindset ahead of the fifth T20I against West Indies on Saturday.With the five-match series level at 2-2, India and West Indies are set for a winner-takes-all contest at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, persistent rain delayed the pre-match preparations, with neither side having begun its warm-up at the time of Kishan's interaction with the broadcasters. The match also marks the return of international cricket to Bengaluru after a two-year gap.'Don't care if I'm No. 1 or No. 100 batter'Kishan, who has enjoyed a rise to the top of the T20I batting rankings, said he was not interested in dwelling on whether he was the world's No. 1 batter or further down the list. Instead, he wants to approach every game on its own merit and avoid the expectations that come with rankings."Nah, I mean, at this early stage in my life, I don't want to look into stats where I stand, if I'm a number 1 batter or I'm a number 100 batter. It's just one game at a time you take, and you just try to play your best cricket. I personally love to keep all these stats aside because I don't want to get into any thought where I'm thinking about, okay, I am number one and I need to play in a certain way," Kishan said in a pre-match interaction with the broadcasters."It's not that, you just need to go in the middle and you need to enjoy as much as you can. And especially in these situations where it's a decider game, where pressure is there, you need to enjoy those moments, leave everything aside, and that's how we prepare here," he added.'Very much happy to be in this situation'Kishan also spoke about India's mindset heading into the series decider, describing the atmosphere within the camp as a balance between staying relaxed and recognising the importance of the occasion."No, it's like somewhere in the middle of both. But I know it's a decider game. We have not been in this situation recently, and so happy to be in this situation because always a decider match, it comes up with pressure," he said."It comes up with expectations and everything, and this is what we want when we go into bat. You don't want to be, like, in a situation where it doesn't matter so much. So very much happy to be in this situation. But the most important thing is we all look in good frame of mind, which is the most important thing for each player, and we look to just play good cricket," he added.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.