Ishan Kishan surprised everyone when it was reported that he had backed out of playing for the East Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2023 tournament. Many speculated the reasons for him being absent from the squad which was recently named for the premier domestic competition.
Now one of the sources close to Kishan revealed that workload management is the reason behind him pulling out of the Duleep Trophy.
Ishan Kishan has appeared in every series India has played so far in 2023. The aggressive batter has been a member of India’s Test, ODI, and T20I squads since the ODIs against Sri Lanka in January and the recent World Test Championship final against England last week. In the interim, the wicketkeeper-batter also played the full Indian Premier League season for the Mumbai Indians.
There has been no break for the 24-year-old cricketer who has been on the road continuously.
Even the ongoing break – between the WTC final and the start of the West Indies tour – is not going to be a long one as the southpaw will head to National Cricket Academy (NCA) next week to train ahead of the long tour of the West Indies.
Ishan Kishan Has Had A Long International Calendar And Absolutely No Breaks In Between- Reports
India’s Test squad is expected to depart for the West Indies between July 1-3, making it impossible for Ishan, who is expected to retain his berth in the Test squad, to play in the East Zone’s Duleep Trophy match against the Central Zone, which begins on June 28 in Bengaluru.
“Ishan has had a long international calendar and absolutely no breaks in between. Even the ongoing little time away from cricket is short lived as he will be heading to NCA next week to train. He was picked in the WTC final squad as a reserve wicketkeeper and going by that, he is likely to retain his spot in the Test squad for West Indies series.
There was no window for him to participate in the Duleep Trophy fixture and the question of ignoring or having no interest in the tournament doesn’t arise because there is no window,” says a source told News18.
The source further added that there was no truth in the recent reports doing rounds on Ishan’s lack of interest or desire to play the longest format.
“Like every youngster, he too wants to play all three formats for India and has been training non-stop for that. There is no question of him not being interested or serious about red ball competitions,” adds the source.
India will play five T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Tests in West Indies next month onwards.