Ishan Kishan in line for a strong Duleep Trophy selection and eyeing India comeback
Around that time, Ishan Kishan has been picked for the 2024 edition of Duleep Trophy as part of his roadmap to make a state return © AFP The selection has come on the back of a strong emphasis placed by the Board Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently — BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had been very clear about Ishan Kishant playing more domestic cricket to stay in contention, as reported here.
Ishan Kishan is a special player among the 61 men who have been picked for the first round of this year’s Duleep Trophy that will be played from September 5 to 24 in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. This selection from the BCCI’s selection committee under Ajit Agarkar has reignited talks of Kishan in line for a possible Indian comeback, especially as India are set to play Bangladesh at home on Dec. 4 and with the red-ball domestic season providing an opportunity for fringe players to catch up ahead another two-match test series against their southern neighbors.
This is a good first step for Ishan to return to the domestic fold after being kept out of the Indian squad since December 2023. It was a spell that began since he took time off for personal reasons ahead of the Test series in South Africa to tend to his mental health. Then, in February 2024 he was left out of BCCI’s central contract list apparently because the cricketer did not feature for his home-team during domestic season as mandated by all Indian team regulars when they are required on national duty.
During a chat, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah spoke on the reintegration process for Ishan Kishan back into the Indian side. The advice of former head coach Rahul Dravid was emphasised by Shah who told Kishan to focus only on the Duleep Trophy which is just round the corner as it would mark his first match in any domestic season. To but he must be abiding by them. He will have to play domestic cricket,’ Shah said.
Ishan Kishan, who featured for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024 despite his absence from international cricket However, he was then dropped from the T20 World Cup and after that not picked for any of India’s subsequent white-ball series. Amid the growing anxiety pertaining to Ishan’s future, a report has revealed that he seems to have been advised by BCCI about what it thinks is best for him this season in domestic cricket. Impressed by his talent and knowing Pinkeyeni had the ability to change games on its head, he was chosen for Duleep Trophy being a stepping stone to make it back into the Indian squad against Bangladesh.
To further his case, Ishan is currently donning colours at the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament-an domestic red-ball pre-season competition-for the Jharkhand Cricket Association team. He gave a dazzling account of himself in this tournament, most pointedly when he took on Madhya Pradesh single-handedly during Jharkhand’s opener. Ishan smashed a mighty impressive 86-ball century on day 2 of the match and finished with an even better score — 114. His innings proved vital in putting Jharkhand on top of Madhya Pradesh after they scored 225 earlier. The century coming up with back-to-back sixes, once again underlining Ishan’s attacking instinct. Came back to red-ball cricket after making his India debut in July 2023 in the West Indies.
During the course of that innings, Ishan demonstrated his ability to clear the ropes at will by hitting nine maximums in only 39 balls. While his form in the U-19 games proves he is ready for Duleep Trophy, it reflects on how hungry Panesar has become to make an entry into Indian Test squad. With the domestic season about to kick off, Ishan Kishan is soon going to make a return with an aim of finding his groove back into the team and be one PERMANENT player Indian cricket can look as part of them.