Ishan Kishan refuses BCCI's offer to play test series vs England - Report

Recently, Ishan Kishan returned to action in the DY Patil T20 tournament in Navi Mumbai.

Indian wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan has reportedly declined the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) offer to be part of the ongoing Test series against Ben Stokes-led England. This comes after the left-handed batter was omitted from the BCCI’s central contracts 2023-24 list due to his absence from domestic cricket.

The BCCI unveiled the annual contracts for the senior men’s team for the 2023–24 season on February 28th. The announcement sparked discussions in Indian cricket due to the removal of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the BCCI’s central contracts.

However, the apex body clarified that both the Indian cricketers (Shreyas and Ishan), who were in Grades B and C respectively in the last central contracts list, were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.

The richest cricket board, BCCI, also added that all of the contracted Indian athletes should also give importance and participate in domestic tournaments when they are not on national duty.

Not ready yet: Ishan Kishan declines BCCI’s offer

Indian wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan withdrew from the test series in South Africa last December, citing personal reasons and mental fatigue. The young left-handed batter was not picked up in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. After this, the Indian batter was also not included in the five-match test series against England.

According to reports, the team management approached Ishan Kishan to play in the England test series. However, Kishan is believed to have declined the offer. “ESPNcricinfo understands the team management had got in touch with him (Kishan) during the ongoing Test series against England, but Kishan said he was not ready yet,” the report stated.

The exact reason behind his decision remains unclear, as neither Kishan has made a public statement nor BCCI has revealed anything about their approach.

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