Ishan Kishan opened up about the controversy that happened after he took a break from international cricket and then didn’t opt to play domestic cricket despite repeated calls from the BCCI and Indian team management.
Ishan Kishan last played for India in November 2022, against Australia and then took a break from cricket during the tour of South Africa. During the break, he went into isolation as he dealt with travel fatigue as he was the first-choice keeper for most of 2022 in the aftermath of Rishabh Pant’s accident.
Kishan was then urged by the BCCI and even the Indian team head coach to play domestic cricket for Jharkhand as they wanted to pick him for the England Test series earlier this year. However, Kishan remained unreachable as he worked on his mental health.
As a result, Ishan Kishan was dropped from the BCCI central contracts list, along with Shreyas Iyer, who was in a similar situation.
“It was depressing”- Ishan Kishan says on his time away from cricket
In an exclusive chat with The Indian Express. Kishan speaks up about why he decided to take a hiatus, the reason for not playing for his state when he was on a break, and the support he had from his family when nobody took the time to comprehend his state of mind.
“It was depressing. Today I don’t want to say that everything was fine. It was not easy for me at all. You go through a lot. Mere dimag mey ye sab chalta raha ki yaar kya hoga gaya, kyu ho gaya, mere saath kyu (Questions like what happened, why me). All these things happened when I was performing.
I experienced travel fatigue. It meant there was something wrong, I was not feeling well or right and so I decided to take a break. However, sadly, barring my family and few close people no one understood that,” Ishan Kishan told Indian Express.
Ishan Kishan highlighted the support he got from his family. He said that his decisions were backed by his family who unconditionally stood behind him.
“A sportsperson can deal with what people on the outside are saying. What stresses you out is how your parents are taking it. How they are dealing with it. When you get to know that they are equally affected, it hurts you, and kills you from inside. But at that point in time, my family members were very supportive. They backed me and my decisions. They understood that I was not feeling well. They understood my situation. They never questioned it but they rallied around me and never left me alone,” he added.
Kishan was also asked why he didn’t play for Jharkhand despite repeated directions from BCCI and Indian team management.
He said: “I took a break and I think it was normal. There is a rule that if you want to make a comeback you must perform in domestic cricket. It is as simple as that. Now, it was very different for me to play domestic cricket as it was not making any sense. I was not in a frame of mind to play and that is why I took a break from international cricket. It doesn’t make sense that you take a break from international cricket and then you go and play domestic matches. Fir toh aap international hi khelte (Then I could have continued playing for India).”
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