Ishan Kishan’s absence from Ranji Trophy continued as the wicketkeeper-batter, who plays domestic cricket for Jharkhand, skipped the final round of matches that started on Friday, a move that might not go down well with BCCI especially after the diktat from secretary Jay Shah. Jharkhand are playing Rajasthan in Jamshedpur and even Deepak Chahar, who is currently training with the Chennai Super Kings, skipped the last round Ranji game.
It is learned that Kishan was asked by a senior member of the Indian team think-tank to play Ranji Trophy in order to make a comeback to the Test team but the flamboyant keeper-batter has reportedly said he was “working on certain technical aspects” of his game and was not ready for red-ball cricket. (Explained: Why England Started 1st Innings Rajkot Test At 5/0? Story Of Penalty Run Caused By An Ashwin Mistake)
The 25-year-old from Patna, who is currently training with his Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya in Baroda, is set to make a comeback to competitive cricket for his employers Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai’s DY Patil T20 tournament.
DY Patil T20 is a tournament where most of the office teams take part and a lot of players tune up for the cash-rich IPL by playing in the event. (Ashwin Completes 500 Test Wickets; Sachin Tendulkar Gives Him A New Name After Achieving Landmark)
Ishan Kishan turned a blind eye to BCCI, Rahul Dravid and Jay Shah and missed the Last round of Ranji Trophy for the state team.
Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Ishan Kishan were specially asked to play the Ranji matches.[HT] pic.twitter.com/803bJG8aLK Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) February 16, 2024
It is Kishan’s reluctance to play first-class cricket and focus only on the IPL that forced the BCCI to make a minimum number of Ranji Trophy games mandatory for players in order to be eligible for the cash-rich league’s lucrative auction pool.
“If you are fit then no excuse will be entertained,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah recently told the media in Rajkot.
“This applies to all centrally contracted players, they have to play. The player cannot decide his future, the selectors need to decide that. If the player is good in red-ball, he has to play.” Shreyas Iyer is also missing in action in the ongoing final round of matches that started across venues. Iyer was, however, having issues with his lower back and groin.