Amid the Ro-Ko madness, the most exciting game of the opening round of this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy somewhat slipped under the radar. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were setting the stands alight in Jaipur and Bangalore respectively. Their matches weren’t televised or livestreamed. Later in the evening, the BCCI posted video clips of their innings on its social media platforms, and on X (formerly Twitter), they collectively garnered more than 900k views.
Something special was happening in Ahmedabad though, where Jharkhand and Karnataka were locked in a fierce contest. Batting first, Jharkhand posted 412/9 in 50 overs, thanks to Ishan Kishan’s 125 off 39 balls. Karnataka chased it down with 15 balls remaining, riding on Devdutt Padikkal’s wonderful 118-ball 147. It was the highest successful run chase in the tournament’s history and second-highest in List A cricket behind South Africa’s 435 against Australia in 2006. But more heartening was the ongoing redemption story of Ishan.
Only a few days ago, the Jharkhand captain was brought back to India’s T20I fold for the upcoming home series against New Zealand followed by the World Cup. It was unexpected. Yes, he earned his place by dint of his performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he scored 517 runs in 10 matches at a strike-rate of 197.32. His 49-ball 101 in the final against Haryana, watched by the selectors, probably was the clincher. Then again, Jitesh Sharma was the preferred choice of the selection committee and the team management in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup squad selection and from that point of view, his exclusion was a bit abrupt. Eventually, however, the right call was made, for Ishan is a better batsman than Jitesh, especially against pace.
“If a ‘keeper is going to bat at the top, our thought process was to have another ‘keeper, just in case there’s a problem,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said at the team selection press conference, adding: “He (Ishan) is in good form, he has played good cricket for India, he has a double-hundred (in ODIs).”
The 27-year-old last played for India in November 2023. A month later, he asked for a break citing “personal reasons”. Ishan didn’t turn up for domestic cricket and lost his central contract. At the time, he was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in white-ball cricket, with Rishabh Pant recovering from a life-threatening car accident. Ishan just disappeared from the international scene and from that perspective, his reappearance has been refreshing. It shows that the BCCI doesn’t carry a vendetta against anyone and performances in domestic cricket are rewarded.
What next? It is learnt that after returning to the T20I set-up, Ishan has started to knock on the ODI door, and a good Vijay Hazare Trophy will put him in the reckoning for the three-match 50-over series against New Zealand next month. Interesting that the southpaw batted at No. 6 against Karnataka instead of opening the innings.
The selection committee has named the T20I side against the Kiwis but it is yet to pick the ODI squad. A few changes are expected to the XV that were selected against South Africa. Shubman Gill is fit and will return to lead India in the 50-over format. A fit-again Hardik Pandya is likely to replace Nitish Kumar Reddy. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a wonderful century in the second ODI against the Proteas in Raipur and it would be unfair to drop him. Tilak Varma came in for Washington Sundar in the last game in Vizag and the latter appears to be on a slippery slope.
Three wicketkeepers were picked for the series against South Africa. With KL Rahul being the first-choice in the 50-over format, Rishabh Pant or Dhruv Jurel didn’t get a game. Pant, despite being a bench-warmer in the ODIs of late, has a high ceiling. Jurel was more of a cover and Ishan replacing him for the series against New Zealand appears a possibility. With no vacancy in the opening slots in the Indian team, Ishan’s decision to bat in the middle order in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is a smart one.
