New Delhi: Ishan Kishan is inching closer to a comeback for the Indian team as he will soon make his return to the national fold with the India A team. Kishan is all set to be selected in the India A squad for their upcoming tour of Australia. The tour will consist of two four-day matches against Australia A and an intra-squad match against the senior Indian men’s team Down Under.
Kishan has not played for India for nearly a year with his last appearance coming against Australia in November last year. He had opted for a ‘mental health break’ during India’s tour of South Africa last year and was subsequently left out from the BCCI central contracts list for not prioritising domestic cricket. The swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter made his return to domestic cricket earlier this year.
Kishan played for Jharkhand in the Buchi Babu Trophy and also featured for India C in the Duleep Trophy where he slammed a ton for his team. Kishan was also picked in the Rest of India squad for their Irani Cup clash against Mumbai and is currently leading Jharkhand in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25.
As per a report in PTI, Kishan is set to feature for India in the two four-day ‘Tests’ against Australia A and will also play in the intra-squad match against the senior Indian team. The first match against Australia A will be played at McKay from October 31 followed by the second game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from November 07.
BCCI is yet to announce squad for India A tour of Australia
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to announce India A squad for their tour of Australia. Kishan is likely to get picked as a wicket-keeper batter while one of Ruturaj Gaikwad or Abhimanyu Easwaran is expected to lead the team. The likes of Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Yash Dayal are also expected to feature in the squad.
Easwaran has been in great form in the domestic circuit having notched up four centuries in last four first-class matches. The Bengal opener is a strong contender to replace skipper Rohit Sharma in the senior Indian team for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia as the Hitman is expected to miss the opener due to personal reasons.
