Basit Ali said Ishan Kishan should focus on next year's IPL for India comeback.
India’s star cricketer Ishan Kishan seems to have gotten the life line when the Indian Cricket Board named him in the upcoming Duleep Trophy squad, which is set to commence on September 5. Notably, the left-handed batter was left out of the central contract after he did not show up to the Ranji Trophy games last year, despite BCCI’s warnings. However, the wicketkeeper batter’s return to the national side seems positive this time. The 26-year-old cricketer is currently playing in the Buchi Babu tournament for Jharkhand and made a strong start, scoring the magnificent tonne in the opening game.
However, it is clear that the Mumbai Indians stalwart must be aiming to mark the comeback in the national squad in the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, but former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali feels that Ishan Kishan should not be optimistic about his return to Team India until the Champions Trophy 2025. The cricketer turned analyst reiterated that the wicketkeeper batter should focus on the 2025 IPL as he won’t be getting a chance in the historic Border Gavaskar Trophy as well as the Champions Trophy.
“Ishan Kishan needs to focus on the IPL now because he doesn’t have a chance of returning to the Indian team till the Australia series. In fact, there’s no chance till the Champions Trophy. Let’s see what happens after that,” Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.
Rohit Sharma and his men are set to play the five matches of the Test series against Australia in November. Team India has won the last three Test series against Australia, with two coming in Australia. But Basit Ali feels that even if India manages to win the Test series in Australia, they will definitely miss veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara’s services this time. India’s former number three Test batter was the crucial cricketer with Down Under 2021-2022. However, he lost his place after he failed to score runs in the 2023 WTC Final against Australia making India losing an elite title.
“Be it 5-0, 4-1, 3-2, or 2-2, India will miss Cheteshwar Pujara. He is that player who can tire the bowlers and create a chance for the other batter at the other end to score runs,” he added.
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