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Behind all the hype and wealth that a cricketer makes while playing for India, there is also the dark side to it. Like becoming an overnight sensation, losing it all too can happen as fast as lightning. The story of wicketkeeper-bat Ishan Kishan is no different. Only last year, he was the blue-eyed boy of the Indian team management and could do nothing wrong. Tired of waiting to get his turn to be in the playing XI in all formats of the game after scoring a double hundred in the ODI and proving his worth in Tests and T20s, Kishan lost his way.
Before the South African Test series, Kishan was left out of the playing XI and the wicket-keeping responsibility was given to KL Rahul. Therefore, he asked for a break. On the way back home, he met a few seniors and that was it. Kishan just went out of circulation thereafter. Had he stayed with the team, he would have scored a century like Sanju Samson in the ODI series against South Africa. Who knows?
He did play the IPL without much consistency and also had a very cordial meeting with BCCI secretary Jay Shah in the presence of Hardik Pandya, his IPL captain. Before that, Indian coach Rahul Dravid and Shah kept telling those who aren’t playing for India should focus on playing domestic cricket. Instead of obeying the dictum, Kishan kept doing his kind of training. He even trained with Hardik to indirectly tell his detractors to mind their business.
Things have come to such a pass that Kishan, without a BCCI contract, doesn’t have his name in the 40-member Jharkhand Ranji Trophy squad. All this while, BCCI has been insisting that he play domestic cricket, and now his name isn’t on the list. On top of it, the Indian selectors also ignored him for the Zimbabwean tour along with Shreyas Iyer. As per the rule, getting a BCCI contract isn’t a problem because the moment any cricketer shows up for India, he gets a contract.
The problem with Kishan is that he has to start from scratch again. With the advent of plenty of wicket-keeper batters like Rahul, Samson, and Dhruv Jurel along with fit-again Rishabh Pant, Kishan’s chance of a comeback may take a little longer. It is all about form rather than reputation at Kishan’s level.
With Pant having no intention to leave his spot in all three formats of the game for the next 10 years or so, who would support Kishan? What can he do right now? What is the way out for him? Is he a victim of politics for being a junior? Kishan simply can’t be an IPL player. He is surely a better player than that!
