Ishan Kishan rejected BCCI’s offer to play in England Tests – Reports
Ishan Kishan rejected BCCI’s offer to play in England Tests – Reports
India keeper-batter Ishan Kishan has reportedly rejected BCCI’s offer of making a comeback during the ongoing England Tests, saying he is not ‘ready yet’. Amidst the backlash Ishan and Shreyas Iyer received following declining to appear for their respective state sides in the Ranji Trophy, the BCCI released them from the latest list of centrally contracted players.
The latest reports suggested that the BCCI approached Kishan, but the emerging star refused. Instead, he opted to train separately, with several reports suggesting he trained with India all-rounder Hardik Pandya in Baroda.
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"ESPNcricinfo understands the team management had got in touch with him (Kishan) during the ongoing Test series against England, but Kishan said he was not ready yet," read the report on the cricket website.
Following the South Africa ODIs late last year, Ishan informed BCCI of its decision to remain unavailable for selection, citing mental fatigue. Besides, the BCCI left Shreyas Iyer out from India’s Test squad for the last three matches with persisting groin and back injury.
The BCCI, soon after, released a mandate asking both the players to make themselves available for their Ranji Trophy teams. Since none appeared to abide by it in the first place, the Indian Cricket Board issued a second warning, this time with clear instructions of them serving serious repercussions in case of repeated fouls.
Ishan then appeared in a local tournament - the DY Patil T20 Cup, with Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav playing it. Iyer got named in the Mumbai squad for their semi-final clash against Tamil Nadu.
Ishan was to replace KS Bharat in XI
Keeper-batter KS Bharat was out of touch in the first two matches, failing with the bat in hand. The selectors were keen on replacing him with Ishan Kishan in the playing XI for the remaining games, but with Ishan refusing to accept the offer, the management went ahead with youngster Dhurv Jurel.
Jurel shined on his first two outings, helping India win the fourth Test, scoring match-winning 90 and 32* in the twoinnings, respectively.
However, considering the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA in June, with Rishabh Pant nearing full fitness, Ishan might have missed the chance of getting picked for the marquee event.
Meanwhile, Ishan and Iyer will be seen playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ishan will play for Mumbai Indians, while Iyer will captain Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
