Dhoni’s advice, Hat-trick and Sai Kishore's unfinished Ranji Trophy quest

CHENNAI: There is a certain tranquillity about Sai Kishore. At 29, the Tamil Nadu captain appears unhurried, almost detached from the noise around him. Yet beneath that composure lies a restless competitor, forever searching for ways to become a better bowler.

After missing out on selection for South Zone earlier in the season, it never seemed like the 29-year-old was content with staying at home. The left-arm spinner, in the midst of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, joined Gloucestershire in County Championship Division Two, where he picked up 22 wickets across six games, averaging 24.95.

"Playing county cricket was a massive positive,” Kishore told journalists here after his second ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

“When you only play at home [India], you don't always get an accurate measure of how good you are or where your game needs work. Performing on lively, green English tracks gave me immense self-belief that I wasn't just fooling myself—that my skills genuinely hold up. It taught me to stay patient,” he added.

One such occasion where his skills showed up was against Durham, when he set-up former English captain Ben Stokes brilliantly. Bowling from such a difficult angle (over the wicket) against left-handed Stokes, Kishore got the ball to dip and turn past the defences, hitting the stumps.

"Dismissing a player of Ben Stokes' stature certainly provides a massive boost. When you manage to outthink and outbowl an international cricketer with that much Test pedigree, it validates your skill set. Until you play against that level of Test quality, you don't fully understand what it demands,” the left-arm spinner said.

For the longest time, Kishore was content on using spin and over spin as his major weapon in red-ball cricket but in his quest to improve, the 29-year-old remembered his former Indian Premier League (IPL) skipper, MS Dhoni’s advice, ‘Use varied angles’.

"That was something I picked up during my stint with CSK. MS Dhoni emphasized it heavily, but back then, I didn't quite grasp the full depth of what he meant. Over the last two years—starting from IPL 2025—I've really begun embracing it. When you bowl from varied crease angles, the ball behaves differently off the deck. I leaned into that, and it's paying rich dividends now,” he recollected.

Eighth Tamil Nadu bowler to take Ranji Trophy hat-trick

Even before a single ball was bowled against Uttarakhand, there was a bit of glow in his eyes as he gazed at the red-soil wicket that was on offer, here at Chepauk. All he had to say before the clash was, “It will be fun to bowl here”.

Across 34 overs, it seemed like Kishore had the best time of his life, with figures of 10/74. But the highlight of that wasn’t his second ten-wicket haul but the hat-trick that he achieved in the second innings, becoming the eighth Tamil Nadu bowler to take a Ranji Trophy hat-trick.

The 29-year-old first deceived Lakshya Raichandani with some drift and turned past his sweep to hit the leg-stump from round the wicket. He immediately switched up his angle for the new batter, Saurabh Rawat from over the wicket enticing the right-hander into a booming drive which was gobbled up by Baba Indrajith in first slip. The third one was a classic, it was the drift that confused Aditya Rawat before the turn did him dirty.

Yet, all Kishore had to say was, “I didn't bowl with the intention of taking a hat-trick; I was just focusing on doing my job.”

“When you stay honest with yourself and put in the hard work, God rewards you with these moments. I had already taken a hat-trick in T20s, and it feels great to get one in first-class cricket too. My coach, Ramkumar, took a hat-trick for Tamil Nadu and would always tease me that I didn't have one yet. Now I think we're even."

According to the 29-year-old, he’s even grateful to be part of the setup. “When I first broke into the Tamil Nadu side, I didn't even know if I could survive a single season, especially coming from a non-cricketing background where the sport wasn't seen as an obvious path,” he said.

Despite that, he’s always insisting on pushing the benchmark a notch above. After a stellar 2023/24 Ranji campaign, where he picked up 53 wickets, the left-arm spinner followed it up with two slightly underwhelming seasons – 24 wickets (24/25 season) and 20 wickets (25/26 season).

“God has been very kind since then, allowing me to represent Tamil Nadu for so long. Indian cricket is packed with talent, and to be fair, by my own benchmark, last year wasn't my best season—even though I still averaged around three to three-and-a-half wickets a game. I just take it in my stride, keep my head down, and focus entirely on performing consistently."

'Winning the Ranji Trophy' remains ultimate goal

Even after his second ten-wicket haul, the goal still remains firm for captain Sai Kishore – winning the Ranji Trophy. Unless that happens, he isn’t going to let himself truly celebrate these small moments.

"This is my tenth season representing Tamil Nadu. Winning the Ranji Trophy is intensely personal to me. Until that goal is accomplished, I can't let myself truly celebrate. Whenever the team finds itself in a tough spot, I want to be the player who puts his hand up and says, 'I will get this done.' That's where my focus stays—locked in the moment. Once the trophy is won, then I'll celebrate."

Quoting Na. Muthukumar, Kishore’s last bit of wisdom was, "Unakkum illai, ithu enakkum illai; padaithavane ingu eduthu kolvaan (Neither does it belong to you, nor does it belong to me; the creator alone claims it all).”