Has BCCI forgotten Ishan Kishan as India star ignored for Zimbabwe tour? 6 more key players to miss out on T20I series
India's Ishan Kishan last played for India in November 2023
More than a month back, just before the start of the semifinals of the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave a peek into the future of the T20I format without the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as they picked a new-look Indian side for the impending tour of Zimbabwe. The Shubman Gill-led side will play five T20Is, starting July 6, and will not feature any member of the T20 World Cup side as the whole of the title-winning side has been rested, with few players to link-up in the final phase of the series.
Twice over the last week, BCCI has made changes in the squad. In the first, Shivam Dube replaced an injured Nitish Kumar Reddy, but the all-rounder was removed from the squad on Tuesday after the selectors made wholesome changes. The committee named Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first two T20Is against Zimbabwe. The T20 World Cup-winning trio will join the Indian side for the final two T20I matches.
But where is Ishan Kishan?
Until mid-2023, Ishan was India's first-choice wicketkeeper in the T20I format amid uncertainties over Rishabh Pant's return as the team looked to build towards the 2024 T20 World Cup. Not only was he left-handed, Ishan could also bat anywhere in the line-up.
However, after the 2023 ODI World Cup, Ishan played just three of the 11 T20Is India had as part of their schedule to prepare for the ICC T20 tournament. Despite scoring back-to-back fifties against Australia at home, Ishan found himself fall behind in the pecking order with Jitesh Sharma emerging as the front-choice keeper.
A month later, Ishan took a mental health break and did not return to international action thereafter. BCCI had repeatedly asked him to appear in Jharkhand's Ranji Trophy games, but he ignored the orders and later left the board members furious when spotted in Baroda training with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya for the IPL season.
Ishan was later disregarded for the T20 World Cup squad, and it now seems he has been ignored even for the Zimbabwe series, which includes a new-look Indian side. What has been even more worrying is that he has further dropped in the pecking order with Dhruv Jurel, who had an impressive Test debut earlier this year, likely take over the keeping duties in Samson's absence for the opening three games, and Jitesh as the back-up option.
Six more key players to miss out on India vs Zimbabwe T20I series
Besides Ishan, Shreyas Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title win last May, was ignored alongside his teammate Varun Chakaravarthy, who was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 scalps at an economy rate of 8.04 in 15 matches.
Pace-bowling sensations Mayank Yadav and Umran Malik also were not considered for the T20I series. The Lucknow Super Giants fast bowler left world cricket in absolute awe with his raw pace, albeit playing just four games, where he picked up seven wickets at less than seven runs per over. Malik, on the other hand, has not been recalled to the Indian side since the home series against New Zealand in February 2023.
Yash Dayal too failed to make the cut despite an impressive IPL season for RCB where he picked 15 wickets in 14 matches, as well as the very experienced Sandeep Sharma, who snared 13 wickets in 11 games for Rajasthan Royals, and was even in contention for a place in the T20 World Cup squad.
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