The young Indian wicket-keeper, Ishan Kishan wasn’t included in the Indian squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 but the youngster is confident of making a strong comeback into the side. The southpaw batter wasn’t included in the 15-member squad announced for the competition earlier this week. Led by Rohit Sharma, India will be commencing their campaign with a mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28.
Ishan Kishan played his last T20 game against West Indies, where he scored 11 off 13 deliveries. Thus far in 2022, he has put on a consistent show with the bat, being India’s second highest-run getter in the shortest format of the game with 430 runs at an average of 30.71. The southpaw batter has notched up three half-centuries with a best individual score of 89.
The 24-year-old said that the Asia Cup snub will motivate him to work more on his game and score more runs. He remains “positive” despite the omission, which came as a surprise to many fans.
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During a recent chat with ANI, Ishan Kishan said, “I feel that what selectors do is fair. They put a lot of thought while selecting players as to who should be given the opportunity and where. It is a positive for me because if I am not selected, I will work harder and score more runs. When selectors will have confidence in me, they will obviously keep me in the team.”
Ishan, who was bought for a whopping ₹15.5 crore at the IPL mega auction earlier this year, failed to do much for the Mumbai Indians. In 14 innings, he only managed to score 418 runs at an average of 32.15 including three half-centuries, even though the five-time IPL champions finished at the bottom of the points table.
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While Ishan Kishan was excluded from the Asia Cup squad, KL Rahul came in after a long injury break. The Asia Cup will also see Virat Kohli’s return after a brief break, while Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the six-nation tournament because of a back injury. Harshal Patel will also miss the continental tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
India, Pakistan, and a qualifier will contest Group A in the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are in Group B. The first and second-placed teams from each group will qualify for a Super 4 series, which is a round-robin to determine the two teams to meet in the final on September 11.
