Ishan Kishan ruled out of first Duleep Trophy game, Sanju Samson named replacement; here’s why

India's wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the first round of the 2024 Duleep Trophy due to a groin injury he sustained during the All-India Buchi Babu tournament. 

Ishan Kishan was included in India D side, which is being captained by Shreyas Iyer. They will face India C at Anantapur in the opening round.

Ishan Kishan, who was missing from the Indian team for months due to indiscipline and disobedience, was expected to return in the Duleep Trophy, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced his withdrawal from the opening round on Wednesday. 

The BCCI is closely monitoring Ishan's condition and is working to ensure his swift return to fitness. 

Earlier in August, Kishan made an impressive comeback with a century for Jharkhand while captaining the side.

In a statement, the BCCI said, “Wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the first round of the Duleep Trophy due to a groin injury sustained during the ongoing All-India Buchi Babu Tournament. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his condition and working towards ensuring a swift recovery,” reported HT. 

Ishan Kishan's last test appearance:

Ishan Kishan last appeared in a Test squad during India's tour of South Africa in December 2023. 

Though expected to play domestic cricket while away from the national team, he missed Jharkhand's Ranji trophy matches.

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid had advised Kishan to play some form of cricket to regain his place in the Indian team, but he did not follow his advice. 

Kishan agrees to BCCI's norms:

After receiving a warning from BCCI secretary Jay Shah, Ishan agreed to adhere to BCCI norms and was included in the list of 25 pre-season probables by the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).

He played for Jharkhand in the Buchi Babu invitational tournament from 15 August in Chennai. However, due to his injury, Ishan Kishan is now ruled out from the opening round of the 2024 Duleep Trophy, which begins on Thursday. 

The BCCI has named Sanju Samson as his replacement.

Updated Duleep Trophy squads for the opening round:

India A: Shubman Gill (C), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat.

India B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (WK)

India C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (WK), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (WK), Sandeep Warrier

India D: Shreyas lyer (C), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar, Sanju Samson (WK).