Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan recently discussed his decision to skip domestic cricket earlier this year. Kishan last played for India in the third T20I of the five-match series against Australia in November 2023 and was named in the squad for all three formats for the South Africa tour. However, he withdrew from the Test team due to personal reasons.

Ishan Kishan “Not thinking too much about the future.I am only focused on how to become a better and different player from what I was six months ago. I am waiting for the domestic season to kick off.I want to do well for Jharkhand and then let’s see.”pic.twitter.com/LaZkdXGOZc

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— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) July 7, 2024

Ishan Kishan Opens Up On Skipping Domestic Cricket

The Bihar-born cricketer also did not play for his domestic team, Jharkhand, which reportedly displeased the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and resulted in him losing his central contract along with Shreyas Iyer. The 25-year-old opened up about his struggles in the past few months, describing the situation as depressing.

Kishan explained that he missed domestic cricket because he was not in the right mental state. He mentioned that taking a break from international cricket to play domestically did not make sense to him, as he would have played international cricket if he felt fit.

After nearly two months away from the pitch, Kishan returned to play in the DY Patil T20 tournament in Mumbai in February 2024, following a statement by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah about players skipping domestic cricket.

Kishan did not have a memorable IPL 2024, scoring just 320 runs from 14 innings at an average of 22.85 and a strike rate of 148.83, with only one fifty. He now faces tough competition for a place in the Indian team with the return of Rishabh Pant and the emergence of other young talents.

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