Ishan Kishan plays T20 tournament; Shreyas Iyer to play Ranji
Months after taking a break, Indian batter Ishan Kishan returned to professional cricket as he played for the Reserve Bank of India in the DY Patil T20 tournament on February 27. Ishan, who has been skipping the Ranji Trophy games of late, scored 19 off 12 balls in Navi Mumbai. Meanwhile, his compatriot Shreyas Iyer is set to play the Ranji semi-finals for Mumbai.
Why does this story matter?
Ishan and Iyer have been under the scanner after the BCCI mandated the contracted players to play First-Class cricket. Subsequently, Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Monday clarified that only those who "have the hunger" to play will be prioritized in Test cricket. Iyer was dropped for the final three England Tests and skipped the Ranji quarter-final. And Ishan had been on a personal break.
The curious case of Ishan Kishan
Ishan pulled out of the South Africa Test series, citing mental health issues, and also skipped the T20I series against Afghanistan. He hasn't played competitive cricket for some time now and wasn't selected in the England Test series. It was reported that Ishan had been preparing for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) edition. He kept on missing Ranji Trophy games for Jharkhand.
What about Iyer?
Reports suggested that Iyer was unavailable for the Ranji Trophy knockouts despite getting dropped from the Indian squad after the 2nd Test. According to an Indian Express report, Iyer told the Mumbai Cricket Association that he had a back injury. However, Nitin Patel, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) head of sports science and medicine, clarified that Iyer had no fresh injuries.
Iyer featured in Andhra match
Earlier this year, Iyer returned to play Ranji Trophy after five years. He featured in the match against Andhra in December before the England Test series. The Indian middle-order batter returned scores of 29, 27, 13, and 35 in the first two Tests.
BCCI mandates strict Ranji participation for players
As mentioned, earlier this month, the BCCI issued a mandate to its fit players, who are not part of the international assignments, to feature in Rani Trophy matches. The move aimed at instilling more discipline among players who ignore First-Class cricket and try their luck in the IPL. "Players cannot simply prioritize international cricket or the IPL," Cricbuzz quoted a BCCI official.
Mumbai squad for Ranji semi-final
Mumbai squad for semi-final: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Musheer Khan, Prasad Pawar, Hardik Tamore, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Aditya Dhumal, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Avasthi, Royston Dias, and Dhawal Kulkarni. Notably, Mumbai will take on Tamil Nadu in the second semi-final, starting March 2.