Ishan Kishan, India’s young southpaw was not picked in the recently announced India’s T20I squad for Afghanistan series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan on Sunday, starting 11th January 2023. And interestingly, the wicket-keeper batter’s exclusion has become a major talking point.
Kishan was part of India’s squad for the T20I series against South Africa. But, later, he pulled out his name due to personal reasons. In his absence, Jitesh Sharma played for India as the wicket-keeper batter.
Once again, Jitesh Sharma has been picked for the wicket-keeper choice in the upcoming three-match series along with Sanju Samson. This begs the question of whether Ishan Kishan is in India’s scheme of things for the T20 World Cup.
As per a PTI report, it has been understood that the selectors are already looking beyond Kishan in the T20I format.
“Ishan wasn’t happy that he was travelling without much game time. He is on a break right now and is vacationing. In any case, selectors are in all likelihood looking beyond Kishan. It will be interesting if he is picked for the England Test series where KS Bharat will be back behind the stumps,” a source of the board told PTI.
Ishan Kishan, reportedly, found themselves in such a situation after he took a break for the T20I series against South Africa. Several reports further stated that Kishan took the break due to mental fatigue.
Why Ishan Kishan Has Not Been Picked In India’s T20I Squad?
Kishan has been with the team since January 2023 but wasn’t getting enough game time. He was part of the squad for the Test series against West Indies, then toured Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, and also South Africa for the white-ball leg. Besides, Kishan was also part of India’s squad for the 2023 World Cup but played only three matches.
It remains to be seen if Ishan Kishan will be selected for the Test series against England with KL Rahul also already being the number one wicket-keeper choice and KS Bharat as backup.
Rohit Sharma back as India’s T20I captain for Afghanistan series
Veteran players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be making their comeback in the T20I team ahead of the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma will be back at the helm of affairs, while the likes of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav miss out due to injuries.
The first T20I is scheduled to be played on 11th January in Mohali, followed by the 2nd T20I in Indore on 14th January and the 3rd T20I in Bangalore on 17th January 2024.
India’s squad for T20I series against Afghanistan
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
