Ishan Kishan was 'shattered' after India's World Cup loss, accusations hurled at him dismissed as 'rubbish': Report

Fresh details have emerged on Ishan Kishan and his potential return to cricket.

If after Virat Kohli's absence, there's a chapter in Indian cricket that is as mysterious, it's Ishan Kishan and his little sabbatical. Ever since he was released from the South Africa tour and then wasn't selected for the Afghanistan T20Is, all sorts of stories have been cooked around him. From reports of finding himself in no-man's land amid India's T20I captaincy, to allegations of mistrust from the team management, and not displaying the right spirit with someone else chosen over him, Ishan's name has been at the centre of the storm for the last two months, with various conspiracy theories doing the rounds.

Ishan Kishan is targeting the T20 World Cup. (AFP)

Finally, things appear to have become clearer around Ishan. A report carried out by The Indian Express confirmed that Ishan had indeed asked for a break due to mental fatigue and is on the road to India comeback. For the last one month or so, Ishan has been training in Baroda with his Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, but at the same time, he is spending time with his family that is helping him get back on his feet. The daily states that the reason Ishan has been in Vadodara for the last month or so is because he has rented a 2BHK flat where he is staying with his family.

Ishan, constantly on the road, had asked for some time off after the World Cup campaign, but it wasn't granted. He ended scoring consecutive fifties against Australia, but wasn't too keen on playing the series as it was just days after the World Cup amid the scars that were to heal resulting from India's defeat in the final. Before the South Africa series, Ishan had made his intentions clear again but to no avail. Finally, he was let go while India were in a series against the Proteas. Too much travelling and being on the road had taken a mental toll on Ishan.

"He had never complained about it but the ODI World Cup final loss in Ahmedabad, like the billions in our country, has left him shattered. He wanted the break right after the tournament but was asked by the management to play and he did it without asking any questions. He tried to push his body and brain but mental fatigue caught up with him and it was only then that he requested a break," The Indian Express had quoted a source as saying.

BCCI's directives not intended at Ishan

The young wicketkeeper batter had landed in hot soup after it was believed that the BCCI's clear-cut message that all players need to prioritise Ranji Trophy was intended towards Ishan, but that isn't the truth. The board is well aware of Ishan's condition and respects his decision. When asked about Ishan ahead of the India vs England Test series, India head coach Rahul Dravid had mentioned that the youngster needed to play some domestic cricket to make himself available for selection before making a U-turn right after the Visakhapatnam Test.

Later, as Ishan and another Indian cricketer Deepak Chahar did not play the Ranji Trophy game for their respective sides, the BCCI in a strict statement had pointed out how certain players are already in the 'IPL mindset' and that they need to realise that domestic cricket remains a 'critical yardstick for selection', all but leading to signal towards Ishan. This again, as the source clarified, couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Ishan has always given priority to the Ranji Trophy. In the 2022-23 season, he was constantly travelling with the Indian cricket team but despite the hectic schedule he played a couple of Ranji Trophy games, and scored a century against Kerala, which helped him earn a place in India’s Test team. All these accusations are just rubbish," it said.

Although there is no official statement yet, the report lastly states that Ishan is close to ready to hit the ground running and could likely be making his comeback to professional cricket via the DY Patil T20 tournament so that he could be IPL bound and push his case for the T20 World Cup.