Ishan Kishan’s wait finally over, set to make team India comeback after BCCI contract snub

New Delhi: Ishan Kishan faced a challenging few months in cricket recently. At the beginning of the year, he was overlooked when the BCCI announced its list of players for the annual central contracts. Several reports suggested this decision stemmed from Kishan’s failure to prioritize domestic cricket, as he missed multiple Ranji Trophy matches for Jharkhand despite repeated requests from the BCCI. Consequently, he lost his spot in the Team India setup, having last represented the national side during the Test series against South Africa. However, it seems selectors are finally taking Kishan’s performance into consideration for a potential return to Team India.

According to a report by PTI, Ishan Kishan is expected to be included in the India A squad that will tour Australia to face Australia A in two four-day matches. He will also participate in an intra-squad match featuring members of the Rohit Sharma-led senior team ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The selectors are poised to make this decision based on Ishan Kishan’s recent impressive form in domestic cricket. He has scored three centuries in red-ball matches, including one upon his return to domestic play in the Bichi Babu Tournament. Kishan followed this with a century in the second round of the Duleep Trophy 2024, and his latest ton came while representing Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy against Railways.

According to the PTI report, either Abhimanyu Easwaran or Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to captain the India A side for the upcoming two four-day matches against Australia A. Both players are also considered strong contenders to succeed Rohit Sharma, who will miss the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to personal reasons. While Gaikwad was initially the first choice for the captaincy, Easwaran has made a strong case for himself with four consecutive first-class centuries over the past month.