 "Ishan Kishan declined chance to make India comeback in England Test series, claims report")
Things aren’t quite sailing smoothly for Ishan Kishan at present. Not only was the India and Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter benched for a majority of last year’s ICC World Cup and has not represented India since November, he has also lost his central contract with the BCCI along with Shreyas Iyer.
Read | Iyer, Kishan will be awarded central contract if they fulfill criteria of required matches: Report
Kishan and Iyer losing their central contracts are seen by many as a punishment for ignoring repeated calls from the board as well as the team management to play Ranji Trophy. Kishan has not represented India since the T20I series against Australia in November and subsequently took a break in order to take care of his mental health, skipping the tour of South Africa as well as the T20I series against Afghanistan at home in the process.
India head coach Rahul Dravid maintained he was in touch with Kishan and had advised him to make himself available for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy and prove his fitness in the process, which the 25-year-old had not complied with.
Timeline | What led to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer losing BCCI contracts
According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, the Indian team management had even offered Kishan an opportunity midway during the Test series, though it wasn’t specified which Test he was being considered for.
KS Bharat had featured as the wicketkeeper-batter in the first two Tests while a slot had opened up in the XI after KL Rahul suffered an injury ahead of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, at which point the Indians were trailing the series 0-1 after their 28-run defeat in Hyderabad.
While Rahul’s spot in the XI went to Rajat Patidar, the Indian team management decided to drop Bharat as the wicketkeeper due to his poor returns with the bat. And with Kishan reportedly declining the team’s offer to don the wicketkeeping gloves for the remainder of the series, Uttar Pradesh’s Dhruv Jurel was handed his Test debut at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah Stadium.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsJurel would end up making the most of the opportunity handed to him in Kishan’s absence. Not only did he score a patient 46 off 104 deliveries in Rajkot, he would end up collecting a crucial 90 in the fourth Test in Ranchi that helped India cross 300 and inch closer to England’s first innings total of 353.
Read | Dhruv Jurel shines brightest in Ranchi as India unearth another star for the future
Jurel, who’s glovework has also been commendable, would later come to India’s rescue with an unbeaten 39 during their chase of the 192-run target, stitching an unbroken 72-run stand with Shubman Gill (52 not out).
Jurel's heroics in the last two Tests has ensured he displaces Kishan as the first-choice wicketkeeper in the Test side until Rishabh Pant, who has been out of action since surviving a car accident in December 2022, regains fitness.
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