Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is unlikely to play the Duleep Trophy opener against Team C in Ananthapur. Kishan, who recently played in the Buchi Babu tournament, was set to play for Team D alongside the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel for Team D. However, as per a Cricbuzz report, Kishan has appeared to have suffered an undisclosed injury.
Kishan, however, might return for the second encounter against Team A, which is scheduled to start from September 12. The report stated that Sanju Samson, the wicketkeeper batter, who didn't make any of the four squads earlier, is likely to replace Kishan for Team D. With Kishan not in the scheme of things for the Test team as yet, he is expected to feature in the latter stages of the Duleep Trophy when the Test squad members leave after the opening encounters.
Kishan scored a century playing for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh in the Buchi Babu tournament but got out for low scores in the second encounter against Hyderabad. Kishan's performance was reflected in his side's results as Jharkhand won the first match but was knocked out from the TNCA-organised tournament after losing to Hyderabad.
Kishan has been on the sidelines for the Test team since November. After what seemed to be a mental health break, the BCCI pulled up Kishan on disciplinary grounds and he later was excluded from the central contracts list after failing to show up for red-ball matches in domestic cricket.
Kishan's Team D captain Shreyas Iyer also lost his central contract, however, the latter has still been in and around the side, having played the Sri Lanka ODIs recently and is on the comeback trail after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title.
The Duleep Trophy has scrapped the traditional zonal format this time and will be played amongst Team A, B, C and D which includes several Indian Test hopefuls with competition for spots being there, especially in the middle-order.
