Star batter Ishan Kishan and BCCI secretary Jay Shah were seen having a long chat after the conclusion of Mumbai Indians (MI) versus Gujarat Titans (GT) clash in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024's campaign opener on March 24.
Jay Shah, Ishan Kishan were spotted having chat post GT vs MI match
Jay Shah who was in attendance to witness the cracker of a contest between Hardik Pandya's MI and Shubman Gill's GT in Ahmedabad, was seen having a friendly conversation with Kishan, even placing a hand on his shoulder. This happened after Shah had previously criticised Kishan and other Indian players for neglecting domestic cricket over of late.
Kishan himself had been absent from international cricket since late November 2023. He withdrew from the South Africa Test series due to personal reasons and took a break ever since. He opted out of the Ranji Trophy 2024 as well, choosing to focus on training for the upcoming IPL season.
Ishan Kishan penalised for ignoring domestic cricket
This decision by Kishan to prioritise IPL training over domestic matches did not sit well with the BCCI. In fact, it resulted in him being excluded from BCCI's annual central contract for the senior men's cricket team for the 2023-24 season. BCCI dropped this announcement on February 28 which also saw Kishan's teammate Shreyas Iyer getting the same treatment as he was also found ignoring the domestic cricket after being dropped midway from the India's squad for the Test series against England.
It was a big move by the BCCI, as both Kishan and Iyer were surprisingly left off the BCCI's contract list despite their recent participation in the ODI World Cup. Players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja remained in the top tier (A+) contracts. The reason behind Kishan and Iyer's exclusion was their lack of participation in most domestic matches during the ongoing season, even after clear instructions from the board and Jay Shah to prioritize domestic cricket.
Talking about Kishan's performance, his struggles in Indian cricket extended into the IPL 2024 season. In the Mumbai Indians' opening match against the Gujarat Titans on March 24, Kishan was dismissed for a golden duck. Facing Azmatullah Omarzai in the very first over, his attempted edge off the fourth ball found the gloves of wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. This dismissal marked another low point for Kishan, following his exclusion from the BCCI's central contracts. The disappointment continued for the entire Mumbai Indians batting unit as they chased Gujarat Titans' total of 169. Ultimately, MI fell short by just six runs.
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