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After Shreyas Iyer reportedly decided to make an appearance in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final match against Tamil Nadu, Ishan Kishan was seen in action on Tuesday for the first appearance in competitive cricket in three months. Following in the footsteps of Hardik Pandya, Ishan participated in the ongoing DY Patil T20 Cup 2024, where he featured as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
Ishan last played the sport in November 2023, in a T20I contest against Australia at home. In December, midway through the tour of South Africa, where he was sure to fill the wicketkeeper’s berth in the Test series, Ishan pulled out citing mental health fatigue.
India head coach Rahul Dravid later clarified that while the team management respected his decision to take a break from cricket, he could only return if he showed some playing time.
“There is a way back for each and every one. It is not that we exclude anyone from anything,” Dravid had told reporters in Vizag during India’s second Test against England. “Again, I just don’t want to work on the Ishan Kishan point any further. I have tried to explain this as best I can. He had requested a break, we were happy to give him a break.
“When you are ready, I didn’t say you have to play domestic cricket, I said when you are ready… you need to play some cricket and come back. The choice is yours. We won’t force you to do anything.” . “We are in contact with him.”
Following Dravid’s words, Ishan finally returned to cricket. He participated in a T20 game for RBI, against Route Mobile Limited at DY Patil University grounds in Navi Mumbai, playing alongside players like 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 a view to returning to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup. Ishan will compete against the likes of Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Jitesh Sharma and Rishabh Pant returning to take up the wicketkeeper’s spot in the lineup.