A discarded India cricketer, who has fallen down the pecking order, recently opened up for the first time about his snub from the national team. 

Left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was left out of consideration after he opted out of the South Africa tour midway in December 2023 citing personal reasons. 

After that, he did not feature in the home series against Afghanistan and was subsequently not chosen for the T20 World Cup squad. 

He also created quite a stir by not playing domestic cricket which led to his eventual exclusion from the BCCI Central Contracts. 

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah even issued a strict warning for players to be involved in domestic cricket when on national commitments, but Ishan did not abide by it. 

Opening up about what had transpired, Ishan told Indian Express, "It was depressing. Today I don’t want to say that everything was fine. It was not easy for me at all. You go through a lot. Mere dimag mei ye sab chalta raha ki yaar kya hoga gaya, kyu ho gaya, mere saath kyu (Questions like what happened, why me). All these things happened when I was performing.”

Ishan Kishan opens up on India snub

Kishan stated that it was not a viable option to have opted out of international cricket and play domestic cricket, while the whole point was to take a break from cricket.

"I took a break and I think it was normal. There is a rule that if you want to make a comeback you must perform in domestic cricket. It is as simple as that. Now, it was very different for me to play domestic cricket as it was not making any sense. I was not in a frame of mind to play and that is why I took a break from international cricket. It doesn’t make sense that you take a break from international cricket and then go and play domestic matches. Fir toh aap international hi khelte (Then I could have continued playing for India)," he concluded.

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After missing out the T20 World Cup 2024, Ishan was also left out of the second-string team that is currently touring Zimbabwe. 

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