India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan’s fabulous return to red-ball cricket in domestic tournaments sparked rumours of a potential return to the national team for the first time since December 2023. Having scored a century in the Buchi Babu pre-season tournament last month, and then in the Duleep Trophy earlier this month, a media report indicated that Ishan is likely to be considered for the upcoming home T20I series against Bangladesh next month. But BCCI’s recent selection call has left his hope in the balance.
Earlier this month, Ishan made a remarkable return to first-class cricket with a century for India C in a Duleep Trophy match. It was his first appearance in the traditional format since making his Test debut in the tour of West Indies, where he impressed the selectors with a half-century knock. He was retained for the tour of South Africa later in 2023, but opted out citing mental-health issue, and later was dropped from BCCI’s central contract list after failing to obey the board’s mandate of participating in domestic cricket when away from national team duty.
Following the remarkable return in domestic cricket, a report in PTI hinted that Ishan could get an opportunity in the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh, which will be played between October 6 and 12, with the selectors likely to rest Rishabh Pant owing to workload management.
On Tuesday, the left-hander was picked for the upcoming Irani Cup match against Mumbai as part of the Rest of India squad. The match will be played in Lucknow from October 1 to 5.
While the development offers Ishan a possibility to break into the Indian Test team for the upcoming home series against New Zealand later next month with another striking performance in the Irani Cup, it simultaneously denies him a chance to feature in the Bangladesh T20I series.
According to a report in the PTI, the possibility of Ishan making an early comeback to the Indian team depends in the Rest of Indian team management. If they select Dhruv Jurel, another India wicketkeeper-batter picked for the match, in the XI, there remains a possibility that Kishan could be the second wicketkeeper after Sanju Samson for the Bangladesh T20s.
No Suryakumar Yadav in Irani Cup
The India T20I captain, who failed to impress in his red-ball performance in the Duleep Trophy last week, will not feature in the Mumbai squad for the Irani Cup along with all-rounder Shivam Dube, as he will have to report in Gwalior on October 3 for the Bangladesh T20I series.
Meanwhile, the Rest of India squad doesn’t comprise Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh because they too will be picked for the T20Is.
