Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan’s return to red-ball cricket could be further delayed as the left-hander is an unlikely starter for the Duleep Trophy opener, starting Thursday.
Ishan, who was named in the Shreyas Iyer-led India D team, has reportedly complained of a hamstring niggle following his two outings for Jharkhand, his first set of multi-day games in over a year, at the pre-season Buchi Babu Invitational in Tamil Nadu earlier this month.
Although the BCCI is yet to name a cover, the team already has KS Bharat as the additional wicketkeeping option, as they open their tournament against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India C in Anantapur. According to sources, Sanju Samson could be drafted in as a replacement for Ishan in the India D squad.
After being stripped off the BCCI’s Central Contracts list on disciplinary grounds, Ishan turned up to play for Jharkhand in the Buchi Babu tournament. Although recognised as a premier red-ball competition, Ishan’s recent setback is spanner in the works as the 26-year-old was eyeing a move back up in Team India’s scheme of things by participating in the Duleep Trophy.
Whether he will be ready for the next two matches is unknown at the moment, but if he doesn’t, his Team India comeback could get delayed by another couple of months if not more.
Meanwhile, India A will be without fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who is yet to fully recover from a quadriceps injury. Prsaidh has begun bowling at full tilt following a four-month rehab, but the National Cricket Academy trainers want to tread cautiously, given he has now been hampered with injury concerns for the better part of two seasons.
Ishan and Prasidh’s respective conditions add to a growing list of India’s injury concerns in the tournament. Last week, Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik were taken off due to illness, whereas Ravindra Jadeja was mysteriously released. And just two days ago, Suryakumar Yadav, who was eyeing a place back in India’s Test squad, was ruled out of the first-round match due to a finger injury he sustained while fielding for Mumbai during the Buchi Babu tournament.
The first round of the Duleep Trophy will be played in Anantapur and Bengaluru from September 5. It’s the only game where some of the top India Test players – including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav – will feature before they disperse to get ready for India’s Test season that begins against Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19.
The BCCI is yet to name the squad for the Two-Test series against Bangladesh. The announcement is likely to happen after the first round of the Duleep Trophy. The Indian team is likely to assemble in Chennai on September 12 for a short preparatory camp in the lead-up to the series.