India national cricket team’s star wicketkeeper and batsman Ishan Kishan, 26, is all set to make a comeback to the national team after being out of the team for a long period of time, according to the latest report.
Kishan was dropped from the BCCI central contract list and the Indian squad across all formats due to disciplinary issues. He decided to take a break from cricket midway through the 2023 South Africa tour and later refused to play domestic cricket despite the BCCI directive.
As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) punished him along with Shreyas Iyer. However, the batsman participated in the Indian Premier League and after that, he returned to domestic cricket as well.
Ishan Kishan recently participated in the Buchi Babu Tournament and then in the Duleep Trophy. He has been selected for the Iran Cup 2024 and will most likely participate in the Ranji Trophy as well. In view of Ishan Kishan’s dedicated participation in domestic cricket, it is reported that the stance of the BCCI has changed and he may be called up very soon.
Along with Ishan Kishan, wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel, who is also part of India’s squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, has been picked in the Rest of India squad for the Iran Cup.
Jurel is likely to take part in the Iran Cup and according to PTI, KL Rahul will serve as a stand-in wicketkeeper-batsman for the Indian team in the second Test if first-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has any kind of problem.
Ishan Kishan’s return to India on the cards
As per the same report, if Dhruv Jurel plays the Iran Cup, the doors will open for Ishan Kishan to be included in the Indian squad for the Bangladesh T20I series as the second wicket-keeper after Sanju Samson, who is likely to get a permanent place in the XI with Rishabh Pant likely to be rested for the T20I series with the big Test season around the corner.
This is because the Irani Cup will clash with the India vs Bangladesh T20I series. The Irani Cup between ROI and Mumbai will be played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow from October 1 to 5, 2024.
While the three T20Is are scheduled to be played on October 6, 9 and 12 at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Additionally, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube have not been called up for the Mumbai Iran Cup as they will be playing the T20I series. For the same reason, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh will miss the domestic competition.
Talking about Ishan Kishan’s latest international cricket appearances, he last played Test cricket in July 2023 against West Indies while his last ODI was against Afghanistan in October 2023. Also, he last played a T20I for India was against Australia in November 2023.
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