IND vs AFG: Watch - Ishan Kishan's First Reaction Since 'Disciplinary Action' Reports & Rahul Dravid's Remarks

Indian opener Ishan Kishan is currently away from the Indian cricket team and is preparing for the Indian Premier League and T20 World Cup 2024. Ishan was part of the Indian squad in the recently concluded ODI World Cup but played just two matches in the whole competition. Ishan was also part of the IND vs AUS T20I series and 110 runs from 3 matches at a strike rate of 144.73.

Ishan Kishan was also picked for the South Africa T20Is but he didn’t play a single match in the series. Kishan was not selected for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which is India’s last ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Notably, Kishan has been out of action since withdrawing his name from the Test series against South Africa in December. Reports suggested that BCCI would take disciplinary against Kishan, but later Rahul Dravid rubbished those reports. The head coach said that Kishan will be back in the team once he plays domestic cricket and makes himself available for selection.

Ishan Kishan was recently witnessed going under training in his time away from the field. Kishan uploaded a video for the same on his official social media handle and can be seen meditating and running in the video.

Watch – Ishan Kishan trains hard in off-time

🏃‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/XjUfL18Ydc

— Ishan Kishan (@ishankishan51) January 12, 2024

Ishan Kishan is an explosive batsman who can hit big shots from the start of his innings. Kishan has been one of the promising batsmen of the current Indian side, but on the other hand, he is also inconsistent with his performance. Kishan was the prime replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant in the team and also an opening option.

Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant were part of the same U19 team that played the World Cup final against West Indies in 2016. However, Pant made his debut for India well ahead of Ishan Kishan and also became a permanent member of the team. Kishan forced the selectors to select him for the Indian team based on his brilliant performances for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

Rishabh Pant has been out of the Indian team since December 2022 and has yet to play a cricket match to prove his match fitness. Pant is expected to play in the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals, however, if Pant doesn’t play in the T20 World Cup 2024, Ishan Kishan would be a straight choice as a wicketkeeper-batsman for the tournament.

Also, players such as Jitesh Sharma have proved themselves on the world stage and have been successful in playing cameos by coming into the middle order. KL Rahul has also become a wicketkeeping option for India due to his brilliant batting and wicketkeeping skills in the ODI World Cup 2023 and the Test series against South Africa.

Getting back to India’s performance in the first T20I match against Afghanistan, Shivam Dube led India to a six-wicket win in Mohali. Dube played an unbeaten knock of 60 runs off 40 balls and helped the team chase down 159 runs with ease. However, India didn’t start well in Mohali as they lost Rohit Sharma early in the first over due to a run out for a duck.

Shubman Gill also got out after playing a quickfire knock of 23 runs in 12 balls, though, Shivam Dube made important partnerships with Jitesh Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Rinku Singh to make sure India crossed the line two overs before the 20 overs.