Ex-Pakistan Cricketer Criticizes Ishan Kishan’s Decline in Team India

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has attributed Ishan Kishan’s decline in Indian cricket to his distraction with fashion. Kishan, who was a member of India’s ODI World Cup squad last year and one of the few players to score a double century in ODIs, has seen his career falter drastically.

Kishan traveled extensively with the Indian team last year and was part of the World Cup squad but did not get an opportunity to play in the tournament. The wicketkeeper-batter made a bold decision to withdraw from the South Africa tour last year due to travel fatigue, a move that did not sit well with the BCCI management. This decision led to his exclusion from the central contract list and subsequent omission from future team selections.

Basit Ali, speaking on his YouTube channel, remarked, “Ishan Kishan has fallen down the pecking order. Woh bhi thoda sa fashion mein lag gaya tha (He too got into fashion a bit).” Ali suggested that Kishan’s focus on fashion might have contributed to his downturn in form and consistency.

India is currently in a transition phase following their T20 World Cup victory, with the retirements of key players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli pushing the management to seek new talent to fill their substantial shoes in the shortest format. Despite this need for fresh players, Kishan has been overlooked once again for the ongoing white-ball tour to Sri Lanka.

Basit Ali didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Sri Lankan men’s cricket team for their lackluster performance in the first two T20Is against India. He commented on their recent struggles, stating, “Sri Lanka deserved to not qualify for the Champions Trophy. It seems as if they are also more concerned about maintaining friendships, just as we have seen in the Pakistan team. My personal opinion is that their women’s team have performed better. Sri Lanka’s men’s team should learn from the women’s team how to keep the belief.”

The former cricketer’s comments reflect a broader dissatisfaction with the performance and approach of both Ishan Kishan and the Sri Lankan men’s team, underscoring the challenges they face in reclaiming their positions in international cricket.