Ishan last played the sport in November 2023, in a T20I contest against Australia at home
After Shreyas Iyer reportedly decided to make an appearance in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semifinal match against Tamil Nadu, Ishan Kishan was spotted in action on Tuesday for the first appearance in competitive cricket in three months. Following Hardik Pandya’s footsteps, Ishan participated in the ongoing DY Patil T20 Cup 2024, where he featured as a wicketkeeper-batter.
Ishan Kishan made a comeback to competitive cricket
Ishan last played the sport in November 2023, in a T20I contest against Australia at home. In December, midway through the South Africa tour, where he was certain to take the wicketkeeping spot in the Test series, Ishan pulled out citing mental health fatigue.
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India head coach Rahul Dravid later clarified that while the team management respected his choice to take a break from cricket, he would only be able to make a comeback if he showed some game time.
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“There is a way back for anyone and everyone. It’s not that we rule out anybody from anything,” Dravid had told the press in Vizag during India’s second Test against England. “Again, I just don’t want to go on labouring about the Ishan Kishan point. I have tried to explain this as best as I can. He had requested a break, we were happy to give him a break.
“Whenever he is ready, I didn’t say he has to play domestic cricket, I said whenever he is ready… he needs to play some cricket and come back. The choice is his. We are not forcing him to do anything. We are in touch with him.”
Acting on Dravid’s words, Ishan finally made a return to cricket. He featured in a T20 game for RBI, against Route Mobile Limited at the DY Patil University Grounds in Navi Mumbai, playing along the likes of Shahbaz Nadeem, Amit Mishra, Ankit Rajpoot, Dhruv Shorey and Riyan Parag.
Ishan will next feature in the impending IPL 2024 season for Mumbai Indians, with an eye to make a return to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup. Ishan will be competing against the likes of Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Jitesh Sharma and a returning Rishabh Pant to take the wicketkeeping spot in the lineup.
