On Friday, February 16, the Ranji Trophy 2024 final round match held in Jamshedpur. Despite expectations, India’s team wicketkeeper-batter, Ishan Kishan, didn’t participate for Jharkhand against Rajasthan. In a similar fashion, Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer overlooked their domestic team games.
Recently, BCCI secretary Jay Shah made it clear that centrally contracted players must play domestic cricket if they are healthy. The announcement came after Ishan Kishan said that he will be skipping the Ranji Trophy 2024 in favor of practicing in Baroda with new Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Kishan, Iyer, and Chahar were particularly instructed to represent their native teams in first-class cricket. Iyer is thought to be dealing with lower back and groin ailments.
BCCI secretary Shah said at a recent ceremony in Rajkot ahead of the third India versus England Test about players abandoning important local tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy.
“If you are fit then no excuse will be entertained. This applies to all centrally contracted players, they have to play. The player cannot decide his future, the selectors need to decide that. If the player is good in red-ball, he has to play.”
Jay Shah
He also supported Virat Kohli’s choice to miss the current Test series against England at home for personal matters. Voicing his support for the previous Indian leader, Shah stated:
“If a person, for the first time in a 15-year career, asks for personal leave, it’s his right. Virat is not a player who will ask for leave for no reason. We need to trust our player and back him.”
Jay Shah
Virat Kohli initially opted out of the first two Tests, but then declared himself unavailable for the rest of the series as well.
What’s the matter with Ishan Kishan?
At age 25, Ishan Kishan, a top-notch wicket-keeper batter from India, stepped back from the South Africa Test series. He cited personal matters. Later, it came out he had asked BCCI for a break due to exhaustion.
Since then, Ishan Kishan’s been left out of the batting lineup. Rahul Dravid, Team India’s head coach, has stated more than once that Ishan Kishan isn’t currently in the running. The reason? He isn’t participating in any cricket activities at all.
Meanwhile, in Ishan Kishan’s absence, Kumar Kushagra continues to maintain wickets for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy 2024 match against Rajasthan.
Jharkhand has 10 points from six matches, with one victory, two defeats, and three ties.