Former India opener turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra shared that Ishan Kishan cannot be considered for a place in the national team as he hasn’t yet made himself available for the match as well. However, Kishan opted out of Team India’s away Test series against South Africa due to mental fatigue as well. He hasn’t played any cricket since then and he was also ignored for the T20I series against Afghanistan and the first two Tests against England.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “What Rahul has said is absolutely correct. Rahul Dravid has said that he should make available first and secondly, he needs to play some cricket, as he can’t be picked for India if he is not playing any cricket. If it had been the period of June-July, it would have been acceptable. However, the Ranji Trophy is happening at the moment, so if first-class cricket is happening, he needs to play there to show his availability. In fact, he has not even picked up the phone and told anyone that he is available.”
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Aakash Chopra further added that the star wicketkeeper-batter has started practising in Kiran More’s academy in Baroda. He also shared that he would probably be preparing for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. The veteran also said that he would have to follow all the protocols to return to the Indian setup as well. Chopra also doesn’t see any logic in reports saying Ishan Kishan might have been unhappy about Jitesh Sharma being played before him as well.
“There was a rumour that he wasn’t happy with Jitesh Sharma’s selection. Firstly, Jitesh was selected because the Indian team needed a middle-order batter. Ishan Kishan is not giving an audition for No. 5 or No. 6 and he will not play at No. 5 or No. 6 in T20s. So Jitesh only will play there. So I don’t think that should or would have been an issue. Let rumors be rumors. I won’t compare him with Sanju Samson at all because this Indian team have wanted to keep Ishan Kishan with great love. I don’t think he would be sulking,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
