Ishan Kishan’s decision to not play in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2023 tournament has raised many eyebrows, but now reports have suggested the real reason for the Jharkhand cricketer to opt-out.
The reason given is workload management for the keeper-batter as Ishan has featured in every series India has played in 2023 so far. Starting from the Sri Lanka ODIs in January to the recent World Test Championship Final, Kishan has been part of every Indian squad this year.
To add to this, He also played a full season of IPL 2023 for Mumbai Indians, who reached the qualifier 2 stage of the tournament.
Only now the 24-year-old has gotten some break but he is reportedly going to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) next week to train ahead of the long tour of the West Indies. India will be playing two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is in the Caribbean on the tour which begins on July 12.
Kishan is expected to retain his place in the Indian squad, which is likely to leave for the West Indies between July 1-3 and it would have been impossible for Ishan to feature in East Zone’s Duleep Trophy fixture vs Central Zone starting from June 28 in Bengaluru.
The reason revealed why Ishan Kishan is not playing in Duleep Trophy 2023 for East Zone
“Ishan has had a long international calendar and absolutely no breaks in between. Even the ongoing little time away from cricket is short-lived as he will be heading to NCA next week to train. He was picked in the WTC final squad as a reserve wicketkeeper and going by that, he is likely to retain his spot in the Test squad for the West Indies series. There was no window for him to participate in the Duleep Trophy fixture and the question of ignoring or having no interest in the tournament doesn’t arise because there is no window,” says a source quoted by News18.
It was speculated that Kishan had declined to play in the Duleep Trophy due to a lack of interest or desire to participate in the longer format, but the source refused such allegations.
“Like every youngster, he too wants to play all three formats for India and has been training non-stop for that. There is no question of him not being interested or serious about red ball competitions,” adds the source.
Since January 2023, Ishan has featured in 6 T20Is, 4 ODIs for India, and played 16 T20s for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
