The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is following through on its promises. Earlier this year, they advised Indian cricketers to prioritize domestic cricket if they were not occupied with national team duties. With no international matches scheduled for more than a month and India’s domestic cricket season starting with the updated Duleep Trophy next month, many top Indian players are expected to participate in this traditional first-class competition, representing different teams.
During this competition, Indian cricketers such as captain Rohit Sharma and batting star Virat Kohli, among others, will prepare for the Test series against Bangladesh, which begins on September 19 with a two-match series.
Additionally, this tournament will provide an opportunity for Ishan Kishan to restart his career with the Indian team, as reported by The Indian Express.
The selection committee believes that the wicketkeeper-batsman should participate in the Duleep Trophy if he has hopes of returning to the Indian national team.
Ishan was removed from the Indian squads for all formats after he allegedly requested a break from cricket during the South Africa tour. He also didn’t play for his home team, Jharkhand, in the Ranji Trophy, even though the BCCI had warned players about missing domestic competitions.
The BCCI took action, and Ishan was left off the board’s yearly list of centrally contracted players. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old continued his training in Baroda with Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Ishan came back to playing competitive cricket in February by participating in the DY Patil T20 tournament and then joined the Mumbai Indians for the IPL in 2024.
Ishan, who has played two Test matches, 27 One Day Internationals, and 32 T20 Internationals, talked about his time off in an interview with The Indian Express.
He mentioned, “I was scoring runs but then I was benched. This can happen in team sports. But I felt tired from all the traveling. It showed that something was not right, I wasn’t feeling good, so I chose to take a break. Unfortunately, only my family and a few close friends understood this.”
