New Delhi: India head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar were urged to give another opportunity to Ishan Kishan as fans grew restless after seeing the wicketkeeper-batter out of action. ‘Bring back Ishan Kishan’; trended on X on Thursday morning, hours before the start of the second round of Duleep Trophy.
Kishan, who made a terrific comeback to red-ball cricket by hitting a century for the Jharkhand Cricket Association in the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, was supposed to turn up for India D team in the Duleep Trophy. A solid performance in the Duleep Trophy would have a strong case for the left-hander to get his spot back in the Indian side, but an unfortunate groin injury during the Buchi Babu tournament forced Kishan to withdraw from the first round of the Duleep Trophy.
“Wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the first round of the Duleep Trophy due to a groin injury sustained during the ongoing All-India Buchi Babu Tournament. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his condition and working towards ensuring a swift recovery,” read the media release from the Indian board.
Sanju Samson replaced Kishan in the India D squad. Since the BCCI statement only ruled Kishan out from the first round of the Duleep Trophy, hopes of seeing the dynamic batter in action from the second round, were high.
However, they were dashed as Kishan’s name did not feature in any of the teams when BCCI announced revised list of players after those who were picked for the India vs Bangladesh first Test, were released.