Ishan Kishan.
Ishan Kishan. Image Credit: X

With the beginning of the Buchi Babu tournament, organized by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), the eyes were on the Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan, who looked to put up a great exhibition of his wicket-keeping skills and batting during the opening day of their game against Madhya Pradesh on August 15.

The only Test series this wicket-keeper batter played for India was his debut series in the Caribbean when he managed to score 78 runs in three innings, besides celebrating his maiden half-century of unbeaten 52 runs.

With his phenomenal keeping skills against both pacers and spinners, Ishan Kishan was supposed to be a huge member of the side during their trip to South Africa towards the end of the last year, but because he left the tour at the halfway mark to return India for personal reasons, KL Rahul did the glove work.

Since then, the Bihar-born wasn’t considered in any format for the blue brigade despite not going into any struggle with the bat in hand. He was asked to be part of the domestic season, which he failed to do, and as a result, was thrown away from the list of central contracts.

Watch: Ishan Kishan displays phenomenal wicket-keeper skills vs Madhya Pradesh

Leading Jharkhand in the first game of the Buchi Babu tournament against Madhya Pradesh at the India Cements Limited Cricket Ground in Sankar Nagar, the wicket-keeper batter grabbed three outstanding catches.

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Just after the first hour of the opening day’s play, Ishan Kishan took a brilliant catch bending down on his left, as struggling Chanchal Rathore for his four runs in 34 balls found the outside edge to provide the bowler Vivekanand Tiwary his maiden wicket.

After that, the left-hander took a simple and comfortable catch to remove Shubham S Kushwah, who managed to score 84 runs in 171 balls, with the help of six boundaries and an over boundary. The batter lost his shape and got an edge to the beautiful delivery of off-spinner Aditya Singh.

The best and one of the most impressive catches of the day, which Ishan Kishan grabbed in the day, was the third and final one. That grab helped the side to send back Ramveer Gurjar, who got a feather, and the wicket-keeper made a full-stretch dive to his left to take the catch with a sensational effort.

The foot movement and understanding of the angle of the delivery with proper judgment was phenomenal for the wicket-keeper, who didn’t look nervous despite not playing the format for more than a year. His efforts ensured Jharkhand would have a decent day with the ball in hand.

The opposition team finished with 225/8 in 89.5 overs in the first day’s play, as Shubman Singh, Saurabh Shekhar, Vivekanand Tiwary, and Aditya Singh picked up a couple of wickets each.

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Ishan Kishan has been picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, where he will be playing for the India D side under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, who also faced the same route as Kishan by getting out of the central contract list due to not focusing on the domestic season.

Since making his first-class debut in 2014 against Assam, the wicket-keeper has played only 50 games, smashing over 3000 runs at an average of nearly 40, celebrating 17 half-centuries and six centuries with a best score of 273-run knock. With a huge Test season awaiting, he will be eager to make a red-ball comeback for the Indian team.