Ishan Kishan has received a key tip from former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali as he looks to redeem his international career with India. His recent exploits have caused a stir on the internet.

The left-hander, who made his international debut for India in March 2021 during a T20I match against England in Ahmedabad, last played for India on November 28, 2023, against Australia in Guwahati. He was also picked for the Indian squad for the Test series against South Africa in December but withdrew from the assignment citing personal reasons.

Now, in a bid to make an international comeback, Kishan is playing in the Buchi Babu tournament, where he hit two sixes to win the match for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh. He scored 114 off 107 balls in the first innings and an unbeaten 41 in the second innings, leading Jharkhand to a two-wicket win against MP.

Meanwhile, while speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali predicted that since international comeback is difficult for Ishan Kishan, he should focus on the IPL to keep his comeback chances alive.

Also Read: Karun Nair ready to battle it out with KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan for a spot in India’s Test squad

Basit Ali’s stern warning to Ishan Kishan

“Ishan Kishan needs to focus on the IPL now because he has no chance of returning to the Indian team until the Australia series. In fact, he has no chance until the Champions Trophy. We will see what happens after that,” Basit Ali said.

Kishan was also excluded from the BCCI central contract list for the 2024-25 season due to his refusal to play domestic cricket. His return from India’s international assignment from South Africa also played a role in spoiling the matter. Now, the only way for Kishan to make a comeback is by playing well and scoring runs in domestic cricket.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a recent interview with the Times of India that Kishan will have to play domestic cricket to be eligible for the national team again. His decision to stay away from domestic cricket cost him a central contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI has announced the teams that will participate in the Duleep Trophy and Ishan Kishan is part of the Team D led by Shreyas Iyer. He and KS Bharat are the two wicketkeeper-batsmen in the team. A good performance in the Duleep Trophy can certainly boost Kishan’s chances of making a comeback in the international scene.

So far in his Indian career, Ishan Kishan has played 2 Tests, 27 ODIs and 32 T20Is for India since his debut in 2021. Kishan had scored over 400 in the last two IPL seasons. In IPL 2024, he managed to score 320 runs in 14 matches at an average of 22.86 and a strike rate close to 150.

Read also: Pat Cummins strictly orders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh to step up with the ball in BGT 2024-25