Ishan Kishan has been in Baroda for past two weeks. (Courtesy: BCCI)Amid the large speculations about Ishan Kishan’s ouster from the Indian cricket team, the wicketkeeper batter was spotted training at the Kiran More Academy in Baroda. It has been speculated that Kishan was not picked up on the side due to disciplinary reasons. However, there can be no questions asked about his attitude and commitment towards the game as he has been training with the Pandya brothers at the Reliance Cricket Stadium. It is also an indication of his return to professional cricket in the IPL 2024.
Incidentally, Kishan will be playing under the newly appointed Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya in the IPL 2024 and training with him will only boost their camaraderie while being away from the national team setup. Pandya has trained at the Kiran More Academy since his childhood days, which is a popular arena to train for the players from Gujarat.
The wicketkeeper batter has been out of favor from the national team since November, last year. He departed from the Indian team set up in December and since then has not featured in professional cricket. Team India head coach Rahul Dravid had advised him to participate in competitive cricket if he aims to make a return to the national side but there has been no signs of that.
Kishan will not be available for selection for his state team, Jharkhand’s inaugural Ranji trophy game against Haryana in Jamshedpur, starting from February 9. It is likely that his prolonged absence will impact his central contract with the BCCI. He currently has a Grade C contract which has an annual retainership of INR. 1 crore.
With the T20 World Cup 2024 around the corner, it remains to be seen if his performance in the IPL 2024 raises his bar and helps him find a place in the squad for the marquee tournament. The top-order batter averages 25.67 in the shortest format after 32 appearances.