Virender Sehwag Blasts Ishan Kishan's IPL 2025 Move

Indian veteran cricketer Virender Sehwag has opined about Ishan Kishan's infamous call during an IPL 2025 match. Sehwag labeled Kishan's call to leave the crease despite not being dismissed as a 'brain fade.' According to Sehwag, Kishan would have been wise to wait for the umpire's ruling instead of walking off on his own. This happened in the third over of the match when Kishan received a delivery on the leg side. Even though he failed to make good contact with the ball, he chose to walk off before listening to an appeal or waiting for the umpire's call.

Sehwag was very critical of how Kishan responded to the situation. In a Cricbuzz interview, he stated that the mind tends to fail at such times, and it was obviously a brain fade. He added jokingly that Kishan should have waited for the umpire, who is being paid to take those calls. Sehwag pointed out that if there had been an advantage, then it would have made sense for Kishan to have gone off the field because that would have been according to the spirit of the game. But in the absence of any advantage and the umpire being confused, Sehwag could not understand why Kishan departed the field by himself.

This occurred in a game between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI). SRH was already on a bad run, and the loss was their sixth in IPL 2025. Kishan's walk-off occurred when Ryan Rickelton had picked up the ball behind the wickets, but no MI player had signaled for the wicket. On seeing the replays, it was obvious that the ball had not made contact with the bat, making Kishan's action all the more suspect.

The game witnessed the Mumbai Indians triumph with a whopping win by seven wickets. The Mumbai Indians overcame an 8x143 target created through the foundation of Heinrich Klaasen, 44-ball 71, along with a run aggregate of 99 between Abhinav Manohar and Heinrich Klaasen. Rohit Sharma also put on a commanding show, racking up a score of 46-ball 70. In winning this one, Mumbai Indians carried their sequence of victories up to four contests within the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Earlier during the game, Mumbai's bowlers did a great job of holding SRH's score in check. Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult performed well with the ball, cutting SRH down to a woeful 13 for 4 in the fifth over. Chahar's 2 for 12 and Boult's 4 for 26 provided the template for the balance of the game. Even with a hard-fought comeback by Klaasen, SRH could never really regain their footing, and Mumbai Indians wrapped up the chase in a hurry.

Although Sehwag's words criticized Kishan's decision-making, they also pointed to an overarching problem within cricket – patience in waiting for the umpire's decision, particularly in dubious situations. Here, Ishan Kishan's hasty decision to walk off the pitch left fans and pundits scratching their heads. His move also questioned whether the players are patient enough to let the umpire decide instead of taking a decision on their own judgment in such a moment of uncertainty.

In short, Virender Sehwag's comment regarding Ishan Kishan's 'brain fade' is an extension of the heated argument regarding players' on-field behavior and their respect for the umpires' position in the game. The episode is a reminder that cricket, as with all games, is guided by explicit rules and respect for the people who administer them. In spite of Kishan's mistake, Mumbai Indians' dominating performance proved to deliver a peaceful victory in the IPL 2025 match.