Ishan Kishan Turns Down Duleep Trophy Spot: Test Cricket Dream On Hold?

Ishan Kishan was so far seen as a replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant, but the Jharkhand keeper has turned down a chance to play in Duleep Trophy now.

Ever since Rishabh Pant has been out of the Indian team due to injury, Ishan Kishan has been drafted into the team as a potential replacement for the wicket-keeper’s position. However, he has not got his India Test cap so far. Now, as per some recent developments, the wicket-keeper batter is not too keen to press forward his case. There are reports that he has declined an opportunity to prove himself in the longer format before India's two-Test series in the West Indies by opting out of the Duleep Trophy.

It is believed that Ishan Kishan could have been a contender to lead East Zone in the domestic first-class tournament, scheduled from June 28 to July 16. But it is now Abhimanyu Easwaran who will take charge of the team. According to a member of the East Zone selection committee, they had enquired with the convenor of the Zonal selection committee, Debasish Chakraborty, about the possibility of selecting Ishan Kishan.

The selector told PTI, "As he is a senior India regular in white ball, he would have got the captaincy. Chakraborty got in touch with Ishan over phone and came back and told us that he is not interested in playing Duleep Trophy. We were not told if he has an injury or not. Just that he doesn't want to play.”

Although Ishan Kishan is considered a top contender for opening the batting in limited-overs cricket, he is yet to make his Test debut. Calls for his inclusion in the team for the World Test Championship (WTC) final grew after KS Bharat's poor batting form in India's home series against Australia earlier this year. However, Bharat was chosen as the wicketkeeper for the final, and Ishan Kishan remained on the bench as India eventually lost by 209 runs.

With 48 first-class matches under his belt, Ishan Kishan has amassed 2,985 runs at an average of 38.76, including six centuries and 16 half-centuries.

As per reports, once Ishan Kishan communicated his decision, Jayanta Dey, the selector from Tripura, considered Wriddhiman Saha as a potential candidate and reached out to him. However, Saha too turned this down since he does not want to take part in a competition considering his India aspirations are long gone. East Zone will now go ahead with Abhishek Porel.