File photo of Ishan Kishan© BCCI
It has been a topsy turvy year for Ishan Kishan. The wicket-keeper batter was left out of the BCCI central contracts and it looked like there is no way back to the Indian cricket team for the youngster. However, with Kishan getting included in the Duleep Trophy squad, it looks like the BCCI is willing to give him another chance to stake his claim for a spot in the national side. Kishan was quite impressive in the Buchi Babu tournament with a sensational century in the first match for Jharkhand. Ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh, former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali said that Kishan should not be optimistic about his chances of making a comeback in the national side and should rather concentrate on IPL.
“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.
Basit Ali also said that India will miss Cheteshwar Pujara when they take on Australia in a five-match series in November. The former Pakistan star explained that even if India manage to win the series, Pujara will be someone that they will miss considering his form and performances in the past.
“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.
Pujara played a major role for India during the 2021-22 Test series triumph in Australia where he ended as the second highest run scorer in the series. However, he lost his spot in the team due to low scores in the next few matches.
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