Ishan Kishan set for national team return with India A's Australia tour

Ishan Kishan is set to return to the national team fold with India A's tour of Australia. Kishan, who has been playing in the domestic competitions has done well since his return from personal break.

In Short

• Ishan Kishan has been out of the Indian team since tour of South Africa in 2023
• Kishan is expected to return to the national team fold
• Kishan was dropped for not prioritising domestic competitions

Ishan Kishan, who was dropped from Board of Control for Cricket in India central contracts earlier this year due to concerns that he was ‘prioritising’ the cash-rich Indian Premier League over domestic cricket, will make his return to the India A team. PTI reported on the development on Friday, October 18, that Kishan might make his return with the India's tour of Australia in November.

Kishan was last part of the India squad in the tour of South Africa in 2023, which he had left midway. The batter had reportedly taken a personal break but the BCCI was not too thrilled with his decision. After the player decided to skip the domestic competitions in the run-up to the IPL, the BCCI dropped him from the central contract. Then India head coach Rahul Dravid had said at the time that Kishan needed to play domestic cricket to get back into the Indian team.

"He had requested a break, we were happy to give him a break. Whenever he is ready, he needs to play some cricket and come back. The choice is his. We are not forcing him to do anything. We are in touch with him. "We know what it is. He hasn't yet started playing, right? At the moment, it's not something that we would consider. He is maybe not ready. He decides when he wants to be ready. We have got options with Rishabh injured and stuff. The selectors will consider all this and take a call," Dravid had said.

News agency PTI reported on Friday, October 19 that Kishan, who was is leading Jharkhand on his return to domestic cricket this season, is set to feature in two four-day ‘Tests’ against Australia A, as well as an intra-squad match with the senior team. The two ‘Tests’ against Australia A will be held at McKay from October 31-November 3 and then at MCG from November 7-10. While BCCI is yet to announce the squad, one among Ruturaj Gaikwad or Abhimanyu Easwaran is expected to lead the side.

Abhimanyu, who has scored four hundreds in his last four first-class matches, might be called as a back-up opener in senior team with skipper Rohit Sharma set to take a break during one of the first two Tests due to personal reasons. Bengal will be represented in the India A squad by seamer Mukesh Kumar and keeper-batter Abhishek Porel.

Likely India A squad for tour of Australia

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Yash Dayal.