Ishan Kishan Opens Up About ‘Depressing’ Contract Snub and Mental Fatigue

07
Jul/24

Sportzyverse
Indian Cricket Team
07/07/2024
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Ishan Kishan has been noticeably absent from the cricket scene since he opted out of the South Africa series midway in December 2023. His absence extended through the Afghanistan series in January 2024, and he was not selected for the T20 World Cup squad. Kishan cited mental fatigue as the reason for his break from the game, eventually leading to his exclusion from the BCCI’s central player contract in February. The BCCI Secretary, Jay Shah, had issued a strict directive for players to participate in domestic cricket, but Kishan did not comply.

The Struggles and the Snub

After being left out of the T20 World Cup squad, Kishan was also excluded from the second-string unit that travelled to Zimbabwe for a five-match series. Facing mounting criticism and uncertainty about his future, the wicket-keeper batter opened up about his exclusion and challenges. Kishan expressed that despite performing well and scoring runs, circumstances went against him, leading to his benching.

“It was depressing. Today I don’t want to say that everything was fine. It was not easy for me at all. You go through a lot. Mere dimag mei ye sab chalta raha ki yaar kya hoga gaya, kyu ho gaya, mere saath kyu (Questions like what happened, why me). All these things happened when I was performing,” Kishan revealed in an interview with the Indian Express.

Kishan’s struggles were compounded by travel fatigue, which affected his mental well-being. Despite his consistent performance, he felt something was amiss and decided to take a break. He lamented that apart from his family and a few close friends, no one understood his decision to step away from the game.

“I was scoring runs and then I found myself on the bench. These things do happen in a team sport. But I experienced travel fatigue. It meant there was something wrong, I was not feeling well or right and so I decided to take a break. However, sadly, barring my family and few close people no one understood that,” he added.

Criticism for Avoiding Domestic Cricket

Kishan faced criticism for not participating in red-ball domestic cricket, instead opting for white-ball formats. He was seen practicing with Hardik Pandya at the Mumbai Indians camp ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024. Addressing his decision, Kishan explained that taking a break from international cricket to play domestic cricket defeated the purpose of his sabbatical.

“I took a break and I think it was normal. There is a rule that if you want to make a comeback you must perform in domestic cricket. It is as simple as that. Now, it was very different for me to play domestic cricket as it was not making any sense. I was not in a frame of mind to play and that is why I took a break from international cricket. It doesn’t make sense that you take a break from international cricket and then go and play domestic matches. Fir toh aap international hi khelte (Then I could have continued playing for India),” he concluded.