Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is likely to miss the first round of the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024 match, slated to get underway on September 5 in Anantapur.

According to a Cricbuzz report, the reason for Kishan's unavailability is not clear but it is believed that the southpaw is carrying an injury.

Kishan's unavailability might open the doors for Sanju Samson. Although it is not official yet, Samson could be drafted in place of Kishan in Team D of the Duleep Trophy.

Performances in this domestic tournament will influence selections for the upcoming home Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Hence, this is a massive blow to Kishan’s chances of making it to India's Test squad.

However, the report also suggested that Ishan Kishan could feature in the later stages of the six-match competition. Each of the four teams is allotted three games with Team D set to compete against Team A in Anantapur on September 12.

Earlier this year, Ishan Kishan hogged the headlines for not being included in the BCCI central contracts list for the 2023-24 season. He lost the annual contracts after failing to adhere to the board's mandate of playing domestic cricket when not on national duty.

Notably, the left-hander had withdrawn from the Test series in South Africa last December, citing personal reasons. Since then, he has not been picked in any of the Indian squads.

Recently, Kishan made his return to domestic cricket with Buchi Babu tournament as Jharkhand captain but his participation was limited to two games as his side could not proceed beyond the league stage.

The 26-year-old played two matches in the TNCA-organised tournament versus Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad. He returned with scores of 114, 41, 1 and 5 in four innings.

(With Cricbuzz Inputs)