Ishan Kishan was last seen in the Indian team on the tour of South Africa. The wicketkeeper and batter took a break from international cricket before the start of the first Test and came back to India. BCCI, reportedly, gave him the break to relax at home but he chose to spend time in Dubai partying. His action reportedly upset the senior members of the BCCI and also the Indian team management led by Rahul Dravid.
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Since then, Ishan has found it hard to make a comeback to the national team. He was not picked for the Afghanistan T20Is and was missing from the squad for the first 2 Tests vs England. It was later learned that he was told by management to star playing domestic cricket again to make his way back to the national team.
Rahul Dravid, India head coach, reiterated the same when he was quizzed about Ishan Kishan’s availability for the Test series. Dravid was clear in his head about the answer as he asked Kishan to prove his worth again in the domestic cricket to get his place back in the national team.
“Ishan Kishan needs to start playing to be considered for selection, we are in touch with him,” Dravid has a one-sentence answer to the query.
However, despite the management’s word, Ishan is not playing in Ranji Trophy at the moment. He is not part of the current Jharkhand team setup which is playing the Ranji Trophy.
Ishan has missed his 5th straight match for Jharkhand as the confusion exists over what the wicketkeeper and batter is up to these days. Jharkhand state association JSCA secretary Debasish Chakraborty also has no idea where Kishan is.
“No, Ishan hasn’t contacted us or told us anything about his availability. Whenever he tells us, he will walk into the playing XI,” Debasis said, as quoted by the PTI news agency.
In January ahead of the Afghanistan T20Is, Dravid had said that Ishan has not made himself available for selection and as soon as he does, he will be required to play domestic cricket. “Ishan Kishan was not available for selection. Ishan requested for a break, which we agreed in South Africa. We supported it. He has not yet made himself available. I don’t think he has made himself available as yet. When he is available, he will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection,” Dravid said, stressing Ishan’s possible route back to international cricket.