Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is uncertain for the Duleep Trophy’s opening round starting on Friday, September 5. Cricbuzz reports he may be injured following his recent appearance for Jharkhand in the Buchi Babu Tournament.
Kishan was picked to represent Shreyas Iyer’s Team D during the first domestic tournament that uses red-ball cricket in the country. However, the exact type and seriousness of his injury are yet to be established, though he is expected to compete in the rest of this contest.
In case he misses out on the opening match scenerio Sanju Samson is a possible choice for wicketkeeping who has not been part of any four squads that were set initially. The campaign will start off for Team D against Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Team C at Anantapur.
For Ishan Kishan, the Duleep Trophy can serve as a way to come back into the national side. The southpaw was excluded from the contract list after not playing for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season irrespective of absence with national team.
His last stint with Team India came during tour of South Africa, December 2023 when he left halfway through series citing mental fatigue.
To begin his journey back, Kishan led Jharkhand in the Buchi Babu tournament. He scored a century in the first innings against Madhya Pradesh and remained not out on 41 runs during second innings while managing a successful run chase.
But then again this 26-year-old failed to make any runs against Hyderabad scoring only six across both innings.
Ishan Kishan joins Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, and Ravindra Jadeja on the Duleep Trophy absentee list
In the lead-up to Duleep Trophy, Ishan Kishan is not the first name to face a setback. Suryakumar Yadav had to withdraw from the opening clash after hurting his hand in Mumbai’s loss to TNCA XI in the Buchi Babu tournament recently.
Moreover, BCCI also withdrew Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the competition. Siraj and Malik are recuperating from illness as Navdeep Saini and Gaurav Yadav were named their respective substitutes.
