"I was scoring runs and then..." - Ishan Kishan blames Rahul Dravid for his ouster from Team India

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has blamed Rahul Dravid and team management for his ouster from the Indian team. Kishan believes that despite scoring runs, he was dropped from the team.

Ishan Kishan has been going through a tough time in the past few months. He took a break from international cricket during India's tour to South Africa due to travel fatigue. He was told to play domestic cricket in order to get his place back into the Indian team.

But Kishan didn't play any Ranji Trophy games from Jharkhand and instead focused on remaining fit and ready for the IPL 2024 season. He was also spotted in Baroda and was found training alongside his IPL captain Hardik Pandya. As a result, Kishan was terminated from BCCI's annual central contracts list for prioritizing IPL over domestic cricket when not on national duty.

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Ishan Kishan blames Rahul Dravid for his ouster from the Indian team

During an interview with The Indian Express, Ishan Kishan claimed that he was dropped from the team despite scoring runs. Rahul Dravid was India's head coach when he was dropped from the Playing XI. He also mentioned the reason behind his decision to take the break and added that no one understood his position except his family.

"I was scoring runs and then I found myself on the bench. These things do happen in a team sport. But I experienced travel fatigue. 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 said.

"My family members were very supportive" - Ishan Kishan

The left-hander stated that his family's support kept him motivated during the tough times and they never questioned his decision.

"A sportsperson can deal with what people on the outside are saying. What stresses you out is how your parents are taking it. How they are dealing with it. When you get to know that they are equally affected, it hurts you, and kills you from inside," Kishan said.

"But at that point in time, my family members were very supportive. They backed me and my decisions. They understood that I was not feeling well. They understood my situation. They never questioned it but they rallied around me and never left me alone," he added.

Ishan Kishan last played for India in November 2023 in a T20I against Australia which was played just after the ODI World Cup 2023 final. After taking the break, Kishan returned to professional cricket in IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians.

However, he had a difficult IPL season where he scored 320 runs in 14 matches at an average of 22.85 and a strike rate of 148.83. He scored just one half-century in the whole season. His team Mumbai Indians had one of the worst seasons in IPL history, finishing last in the points table.