Despite BCCI making domestic cricket participation mandatory for all the players, who have been away from the cricket field for unnecessary reasons, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan didn’t return to play for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy.
Jharkhand are playing against Rajasthan in the second round of the Ranji Trophy and the match began on February 15, 2024. The BCCI might not like Ishan’s behavior despite making players mandatory to play domestic cricket.
As per a PTI report, Ishan Kishan was advised by a senior member of the Indian team management to go and play first-class cricket to make a return to the Test side. However, Ishan reportedly responded to be working on certain technical aspects and hence is not prepared for red-ball cricket.
Ishan Kishan skips Ranji Trophy match against Jharkhand
Ishan Kishan is currently practicing with Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya in Vadodara and is set to make a comeback to competitive cricket in Mumbai’s DY Patil T20 tournament. Kishan will be playing for his employer Reserve Bank of India and the DY Patil T20 tournament is a competition where many office teams take part and players get a decent environment.
Kishan’s unwillingness to participate in first-class cricket and his singular emphasis on the IPL compelled the BCCI to mandate that players play a minimum number of Ranji Trophy matches to qualify for the lucrative auction pool of the cash-rich league.
While addressing the media in Rajkot ahead of the third IND vs ENG Test match, BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that if a player is fit then he has no excuse to be away from the cricket field. He said, “If you are fit then no excuse will be entertained. This applies to all centrally contracted players, they have to play. The player cannot decide his future, the selectors need to decide that. If the player is good in red-ball, he has to play.”
Ishan Kishan was part of India’s squad for the Test series against South Africa and opted out of the series due to personal reasons. He did the same during the selection of the squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan and had given up mental stiffness as the reason behind his pulling out of the series.
Ishan Kishan has also not represented Jharkhand in the first round of the Ranji Trophy. JSCA are currently unclear about his availability for the tournament and has no idea when he will come back. The same goes for the BCCI selectors as his return to India also remains in darkness.
The BCCI selectors might not prefer Ishan Kishan in the first place while picking up the team for the T20 World Cup 2024. The selectors may give preference to the likes of Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson wherein they shall be picked for the upcoming major ICC tournament squad. There is a lot of competition in the Indian cricket team for one place and more than 2 players are competing for one position.
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