BCCI finalizes replacement as Ishan Kishan set to be ignored for India tour of Sri Lanka 2024

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is set to be dropped for India's tour of Sri Lanka, where the team will play three T20Is and three ODIs. Another wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is likely to be picked up instead of Kishan.

Kishan has been out of the Indian team for quite some time now. He was part of India's squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup, where the team finished runners-up. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant made a superb comeback into the Indian team with excellent performances in the IPL.

Pant was a part of India's squad that won the T20 World Cup 2024 last month. Batting at No. 3, the left-hander scored 171 runs in eight matches at an average of 24.42 and a strike rate of 127.61.

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Ishan Kishan set to be ignored for India's tour of Sri Lanka

According to the reports, most of the players who were a part of India's World Cup 2023 squad are likely to retain their positions for the ODIs in Sri Lanka, except the out-of-favor Ishan Kishan, injured Mohammed Shami, and rested players like Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli.

Kishan is set to be replaced by fellow wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who has regained full fitness and was a key player in India's T20 World Cup 2024-winning campaign.

Kishan has been out of favor since he took a break midway through the South Africa tour last year, citing mental fatigue. According to the reports, India's captain and head coach at that time Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid were unhappy with Kishan's decision.

The 26-year-old was asked by BCCI to play domestic cricket to get back into the reckoning but the youngster did not pay heed and instead started preparing for IPL 2024. As a result, he was also removed from BCCI's annual central contracts list. Since then, he has not been considered for any format so far.

Recently during an interview with The Indian Express, Kishan revealed the reason for his break and said that only his family understood and close ones understood his problems.

"It meant there was something wrong, I was not feeling well or right and so I decided to take a break. However, sadly, barring my family and few close people no one understood that," Kishan had said.

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul likely to be back

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are likely to make a comeback into the Indian team for the ODIs. Both Iyer and Rahul were key performers for India in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where both finished among the top ten run-scorers of the tournament.

Shreyas Iyer also lost his central contract along with Ishan Kishan. But under Iyer's captaincy, Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL 2024 title and he had a good season with the bat. With both Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul expected in the ODI squad, it will be interesting to see who takes the wicketkeeping gloves.