Sunil Gavaskar unable to understand why Ishan Kishan was reluctant to feature in Ranji Trophy 2024 for Jharkhand

Former Indian batsman turned pundit Sunil Gavaskar is still trying to figure out why Ishan Kishan was so reluctant to feature for Jharkhand in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024. Gavaskar made this claim in light of Kishan being axed from the 2024 annual player retainership list released by the BCCI last week. Along with the Jharkhand born, Mumbai’s Shreyas Iyer was also shown the exit door from the central contracts.

It will be fair to say that Ishan Kishan dug up his own grave after asking for a mental health break during India’s all-format tour of South Africa in December-January. Following his ask, the Rahul Dravid-led team management did allow him to leave but he hasn’t returned to the Indian team ever since. And his chances of staging a comeback seem even more difficult now that he hasn’t landed a central contract.

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Gavaskar blames Ishan Kishan for not turning up for Ranji Trophy 2024

While writing in his column in the Mid-day newspaper, Sunil Gavaskar was quite critical about Ishan Kishan not turning up for the Ranji Trophy. The 74-year-old also shed some light upon another batsman who received the axe – Shreyas Iyer. Gavaskar stated Iyer was not entirely wrong for missing Mumbai’s quarter-final clash since he featured in all of the important events India played in since the Asia Cup 2023.

In the press release shared by BCCI on their official website, it was written that Kishan and Iyer were not considered for the current round of discussions. And that came a few weeks after BCCI’s honorable secretary Jay Shah threatened consequences for not featuring in the domestic circuit.

“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations. The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.” – the press release read. 

With that in mind, Sunil Gavaskar wrote that he somehow knew Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer would not be a part of the central contract.

“The BCCI announced the list of the contracted players a few days back and as expected, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were excluded from the contract list presumably for not playing Ranji Trophy cricket. Nobody still knows why Kishan has not turned up for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy.” – Gavaskar wrote via Midday. 

After the axe, Shreyas Iyer joined the Mumbai team for their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu. Kishan on the other hand cannot play in the domestic tournament as Jharkhand hasn’t qualified for the semis. But he has made sure to get some playing time in the ongoing DY Patil T20 tournament which Hardik Pandya is also a part of.

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What’s next for Kishan?

The next thing that Ishan Kishan will be hoping for is that he undergoes an impressive and run-filled performance for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Although it’s not guaranteed whether he will still be considered for India in the upcoming months he must try and start staging a comeback.

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