Ishan Kishan has made for one curious case in the last few months. In the recently announced BCCI central contracts for the 2023-24 season, Kishan did not earn a contract for this season, nor did Shreyas Iyer. Kishan has been surrounded by controversy due to his reluctance to not feature for Jharkhand in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season, while also making himself unavailable for selection for India in the last couple of months. All eyes will now be on him in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.
Considered to be one of the most talented young prospects in the country, Ishan Kishan often found himself excluded from India’s XI in all formats, even though the southpaw has performed well with the bat and has been a decent wicketkeeper behind the stumps. Now, after falling out of favour with BCCI, IPL 2024 will be a big litmus test for the 25-year-old. Kishan will be eager to redeem himself by outshining everyone and earning a call-up for India.
Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra believes that Ishan Kishan could make his way back into the national reckoning by having an outstanding IPL 2024. In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, the former opener explained what could work in his favour in IPL 2024.
“Ishan Kishan must be hungry. He has not got any central contract. This is the only thing he is playing. What else is he playing – either he has himself refused to play or he will not be picked. This is his chance. If you make runs here, then you will have the opportunity to go further,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Of course there is a pitch like that of Wankhede. That will help him. The ball will come on to the bat. Ishan Kishan-Rohit Sharma could be that third opening pair which can do good in IPL 2024.”
It all began on the South Africa tour, where Ishan Kishan withdrew from the two-match Test series which took place after the white ball leg of the tour. Kishan didn’t feature in any T20I against South Africa, with India opting to go with Jitesh Sharma instead.
Ishan Kishan cited “mental fatigue” as the reason for him backing out of the Test series and taking a break. He made himself unavailable for the Afghanistan T20Is in January as well as the ongoing Test series against England.
Amidst all this drama, the southpaw did not turn up to represent his state, Jharkhand, in the Ranji Trophy, with the Jharkhand coach saying that he couldn’t get in touch with the player.
Last month, BCCI mandated the participation of centrally contracted players to play domestic cricket when they are not serving the country on international commitments. The diktat issued by BCCI was a strict one and was more or less aimed at players like Ishan Kishan who were unwilling to play domestic cricket.
Ishan Kishan recently returned to competitive cricket to play in the DY Patil T20 Cup 2024.
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