Ishan Kishan is reportedly set to return to competitive cricket through the DY Patil Tournament in Mumbai. The wicketkeeper-batsman has not played a competitive game since November last year.
While he was a part of India’s T20I and Test squads for the South Africa tour, he did not play a single game. And just before the start of the Test series, he decided to take a break from the game due to personal reasons. Ishan Kishan was expected to be a part of India’s T20I squad for the series against Afghanistan last month but the selectors decided against it.
He was also not named in the squad for the ongoing Test series against England. Amidst his mysterious absence from the national team, India head coach Rahul Dravid stated that Ishan Kishan would have to play domestic cricket to make himself eligible for national selection. Unsurprisingly, it was expected that the batsman will play in the Ranji Trophy.
However, he did not join the Jharkhand team and opted to train with Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya in Baroda. It was then expected that he would make his much-awaited return to action in IPL 2024 but according to Dainik Bhaskar, the wicketkeeper-batsman is set to play in the DY Patil tournament before that.
“In the next few days, all the players will be communicated by the BCCI to play for their state team in the Ranji Trophy, as long as they are not on national duty, with only those who are unfit and recovering at the NCA being granted an exemption. The Board isn’t too happy with certain players already in IPL mode from January,” a source said on February 11.
This comes after the BCCI made it mandatory for the players to participate in domestic cricket instead of training privately for IPL. According to reports, the BCCI informed all the players about its new directive via email on Monday (February 12).
Ishan Kishan took break to be with his family:
The report further stated that Ishan Kishan took the break before the Test series against South Africa in order to be with his family. While most of India’s player got a break after the World Cup, he was a part of the team that played a T20I series against Australia right after the end of the marquee event.
It was followed by the tour of South Africa. Dainik Bhaskar also claimed that Ishan Kishan did not play in Ranji Trophy due to a lack of preparation.
