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Ishan Kishan will make a comeback to the Ranji Trophy and captain Jharkhand at least for the first two games this year after his absence in the last season created controversy.
The wicketkeeper's comeback became official when Jharkhand announced a 16-member squad for the first two games, against Assam and Railways, on Wednesday. Virat Singh, who led for most of the last season, would be Kishan's vice-captain.
This would be the team's first season in a long time without veteran Saurabh Tiwary, who took leadership of the team in the last game of the 2023 season and retired after that. Kishan last led the side in the 2018-19 season.
Kishan took a break from international cricket at the end of December 2023, citing travel fatigue. However, his no-show at domestic competitions seemingly angered the BCCI, with the board stripping him and Shreyas Iyer out of a central contract and making participation mandatory for those not involved with the senior national side.
Media reports repeatedly cited Jharkhand officials saying that Kishan had not made himself available for selection despite the snub. On his part, Kishan said that he felt depressed at the chaotic time and couldn't find anyone apart from his family and close ones to understand what he was going through.
He made his comeback in the recent Duleep Trophy and also featured in the Irani Cup. For this Ranji campaign, he'd be leading a young side, including the likes of Kumar Kushagra and Ankul Roy, hoping for a strong show ahead of India's Test series against New Zealand and the tour of Australia.
Jharkhand's squad for first two matches of the Ranji Trophy
Ishan Kishan (C), Virat Singh (VC), Kumar Kushagra (WK), Nazim Siddique, Aryaman Sen, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Suraj, Anukul Roy, Utkarsh Singh, Supriyo Chakraborty, Saurabh Shekhar, Vikas Kumar, Vivekanand Tiwary, Manishi, Ravi Kumar Yadav and Raunak Kumar.
