Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has defended Ishan Kishan and has backed him to return to the Test side soon. The wicketkeeper-batsman took a break from the game just before the Test series against South Africa last month and is yet to return to action.
He was expected to be a part of India’s squads for the recently-concluded three-match T20I series against Afghanistan as well as the upcoming Test series against England. However, the selectors decided against picking him for the T20I series as well as the first two Tests against England. In his absence, Sanju Samson was recalled to the T20I side while Dhruv Jurel has earned his maiden Test call-up.
India head coach Rahul Dravid recently stated that the out-of-favour wicketkeeper-batsman would have to play domestic cricket in order to return to the Indian team. However, the southpaw is yet to play in domestic cricket so far. As per reports, he didn’t even reach out to the Jharkhand State Cricket Association regarding his participation in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
“It’s early days, of course, and one doesn’t know when Ishan Kishan, who asked to be allowed to go home from South Africa, is going to make himself available again. Rahul Dravid, the coach of the team, has very clearly said that he has to play in the Ranji Trophy and show his form to be considered for selection,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“Dravid also very categorically and firmly debunked the rumours that Kishan was left out because of disciplinary reasons. Hopefully, that will set the matter to rest and not further sully a young man’s name, which was done by some ill-founded speculation after his name was found missing in the Indian squad for the first two Test matches against England,” Gavaskar added.
Sunil Gavaskar slams media for Ishan Kishan treatment:
Writing further, Gavaskar slammed the media for tarnishing the image of Ishan Kishan. He said that the media should have got their facts right instead of speculating and spoiling the young player’s reputation.
“Players work very hard to play the game at whatever level, so it’s incumbent on the media to get their facts right rather than speculate and spoil a young man’s name. Kishan is a rare talent, and Indian cricket lovers should back him to come back to scoring and entertaining us sooner rather than later,” Gavaskar wrote.
