The long wait to watch Ishan Kishan play cricket is finally over. The wicketkeeper-batsman returned to the game as he was seen playing on Tuesday (February 27) for RBI in their match against Route Mobile Limited at the DY Patil University ground in Navi Mumbai.
Ishan Kishan was seen putting on the guard gloves for RBI, who were asked to bowl first in the game. The wicketkeeper-batsman is part of the team along with players like Shahbaz Nadeem, Amit Mishra, Ankit Rajpoot, Dhruv Shorey and Riyan Parag, who seem to be gearing up for IPL 2024.
Ishan Kishan has been out of action for more than 3 months. The batsman last played in the T20I series against Australia after the ICC World Cup 2023. He was part of the Indian team for the T20Is in South Africa, but could not play as the team preferred Jitesh Sharma.
Ishan Kishan was also part of the Test series against South Africa but opted out of the series due to personal reasons. The wicketkeeper-batsman has since been out of action and there has been no clarity on his future with the Indian team across all formats.
The Indian team management, especially head coach Rahul Dravid, asked Ishan Kishan to play some competitive cricket before returning to the team. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman did not heed the demands and did not participate in the Ranji Trophy for his state team. But he was seen preparing for IPL with the Pandya brothers.
“There is a way back for each and every one. It’s not that we exclude anyone from anything. Again, I just don’t want to work on Ishan Kishan’s point any further. I have tried to explain this as best as I can. He had requested a break and we were happy to give him a break.
“When you are ready, I didn’t say you have to play domestic cricket, I said when you are ready… you need to play some cricket and come back. The choice is yours. We don’t force him to do anything. “We are in contact with him.” Rahul Dravid had said about Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan likely to miss BCCI one-year contract
BCCI secretary Jay Shah recently sternly warned contract and India A cricketers that their non-participation in the ongoing Ranji Trophy will not be tolerated. However, despite that, Ishan Kishan did not play for Jharkhand and the governing body is reportedly not happy with him.
There have been reports suggesting that BCCI will release him from the national contract. Captain Rohit Sharma also took an indirect jibe, saying that people who are not hungry to play Test cricket will not be chosen for the team.
Ishan Kishan will now be seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He is expected to play a crucial role for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the top order. The tournament will be extremely crucial for the wicketkeeper-batsman as he will look to make a comeback in the Indian team.