Ishan Kishan continues to sit out of Ranji Trophy

Ishan Kishan continues to sit out from the Ranji Trophy as the wicketkeeper-batter skipped the final round of matches for Jharkhand which started on Friday despite media reports suggesting that BCCI has asked the player to play in domestic red-ball cricket tournament. Kishan’s absence from Ranji Trophy despite being out of Team India squad has also reportedly made BCCI planning to make a minimum number of Ranji Trophy games mandatory for players in order to take part in IPL auction pool.

Kishan is currently training in Baroda with his Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and former teammate Krunal with an eye on the IPL 2024 which is expected to start in March.

Kishan is not the only India player to miss Ranji Trophy’s final round of matches on Friday. Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer are also missing from their team’s lineup. The news agency PTI has reported that Iyer is having issues with his lower back and groin.

PTI’s report also added that Kishan, Chahar and Iyer were specifically asked by BCCI to play in Ranji Trophy.

Kishan’s Ranji team Jharkhand are playing against Rajasthan at home and Kumar Kushagra is playing as the wicket-keeper for the state team in the absence of the senior cricketer.

It will be interesting to see what will be BCCI’s next move now that Kishan and some other players have decided against featuring in Ranji Trophy. As per reports, Kishan’s actions have not gone down well with BCCI top brass and this could lead to a strict policy to ensure India cricketers don’t skip domestic cricket for IPL.