BCCI secretary Jay Shah has warned Ishan Kishan sternly and asked him to follow the rules and play domestic cricket to come back into Team India. This comes after Kishan made himself available for the Jharkhand team for the Buchi Babu Tournament.
Notably, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded from the list of BCCI centrally contracted players, after they refused to play domestic cricket to stake a claim to an Indian team spot.
Ishan Kishan was an integral part of the Indian team across formats in 2023 as in the absence of Rishabh Pant, Indian team management handed Kishan a chance to cement his spot. He did well for India, making his Test debut in West Indies, and was also part of the ICC World Cup 2023 squad.
However, Kishan returned home from a South Africa tour citing a mental health break. When the Indian team management wanted Kishan to play domestic cricket as they wanted him to prove form and fitness ahead of the England Test series this year, Kishan refused to communicate with the management and the BCCI.
He made his comeback in the IPL 2024 but had been excluded from the central contracts as a punishment. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed during an event that all Indian players will have to prove fitness in domestic cricket before they are considered for the Indian team.
Jay Shah says Ishan Kishan will have to follow rules for the Indian team’s comeback
However, after being overlooked for the T20 World Cup 2024 and other important series, Ishan Kishan recently made himself available for the Jharkhand team for the Buchi Babu tournament in Tamil Nadu. Kishan has also been named in one of the squads for the upcoming Duleep Trophy tournament.
This will be important for Kishan as a good performance in red-ball cricket can help him get back in contention for the Indian team where the competition for keeper-batter spot has heated up with the return of Rishabh Pant.
Talking about the compulsion of making Ishan Kishan play domestic cricket, Jay Shah told the Times of India that he will have to follow rules and play domestic cricket like any other cricketer who aspires to play for India.
“He will have to follow the rules. He will have to play domestic cricket. We have been little strict. When Ravindra Jadeja had got injured, I was the one who called him and asked him to play a domestic game. It’s certain now, whoever gets injured and goes out, can only come into the Indian team after proving his fitness in domestic cricket.
If you look Duleep Trophy squad, apart from Rohit and Virat rest are going to play. It’s because of the harsh steps I have taken, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are playing Duleep Trophy,” Jay Shah told Times of India.
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