(Source X)
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has shared his thoughts on why wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been absent from the Indian team lately. Kishan, who was once a regular in India’s white-ball squads and played in the ODI World Cup 2023 final, has seen his position weaken.
His decline began after he requested a break during India’s tour of South Africa last year. Although Kishan was on the verge of being selected for the Test series against South Africa, he opted out due to mental fatigue.
In February 2024, Kishan faced another setback when he was dropped from the BCCI’s annual central contracts list. The selectors had advised him to participate in the Ranji Trophy season, but he was instead seen training with Hardik Pandya for the IPL 2024 season, leading to his removal from the contracts list.
Basit Ali speaks out about Ishan Kishan’s absence from the Indian team.
On his YouTube channel, Basit Ali commented on Ishan Kishan, suggesting that Kishan’s involvement in fashion may have contributed to his exclusion from the Indian team.
“Ishan Kishan has fallen down the pecking order. Woh bhi thoda sa fashion mein lag gaya tha (He too got into fashion a bit),” said Basit Ali.
Following his absence from the Ranji Trophy, Kishan took part in the IPL 2024 for the Mumbai Indians. His performance was average, amassing 360 runs in 14 innings at a modest average of 22.85 and a strike rate of 148.84. Throughout the season, he managed to score only one half-century.
In the meantime, Basit Ali criticized the Sri Lankan team for their underwhelming performance in the first two T20Is against India. Ali argued that Sri Lanka’s current form did not warrant a spot in the upcoming Champions Trophy. He even suggested that the Sri Lankan men’s team could benefit from taking lessons from the success of their women’s team.
“Sri Lanka deserved to not qualify for the Champions Trophy. It seems as if they are also more concerned about maintaining friendships, just as we have seen in the Pakistan team. My personal opinion is that their women’s team have performed better. Sri Lanka’s men’s team should learn from the women’s team how to keep the belief,” Ali said.
On July 28 (Sunday), the Sri Lanka women’s team made history by winning the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 for the first time ever. They pulled off a major upset by defeating the formidable India women’s team in the final by 8 wickets.
In contrast, the Sri Lankan men’s team struggled to meet expectations, losing their second consecutive match to India. Similar to the first T20I, Sri Lanka faltered from a strong position, collapsing to lose 7 wickets for just 31 runs. They ended their innings with a subpar score of 161-9 in 20 overs.
India was set a revised target of 78 runs from 8 overs, which they achieved with 9 balls to spare. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hardik Pandya, and captain Suryakumar Yadav played explosive innings to secure the victory for India.
