Ishan Kishan storms back: Sun rises again as wicketkeeper returns to BCCI central contract list

Ishan Kishan on Monday stormed his way back into the BCCI central contract and has been placed in Grade C for the 2024-25 season. The wicket-keeper batter, who was snubbed from the 2023-24 contract list, has not played for India in any format since November 2023.

The 26-year-old flew back to India mid-way from the South Africa tour and skipped the entire 2023-24 domestic season saying that he wanted a break from cricket due to mental health reasons. He returned to the sport only in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Kishan, who has a double century in ODI, had also made himself unavailable for the Test series against England in early 2024. Coach Rahul Dravid, at the time, had said that he hadn't yet made himself available, and that he would have to play some kind of domestic cricket to be eligible for a comeback.

According to media reports, selectors were not pleased that Kishan used this time away from the game to train with his then IPL captain Hardik Pandya in Baroda.

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Kishan started IPL 2025 with a bang, smashing a century in the first match for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he has had a tough time since that knock and has not made any notable contributions in the ongoing tournament. The left-handed batter also represented Jharkhand in the 2024-25 Domestic season.