‘Will you keep him on trial all the time?’ - Ajay Jadeja voices frustration over Ishan Kishan’s selection conundrum

In the absence of all the senior cricketers, Ishan Kishan was expected to play a pivotal role in the five-match T20I series against Australia. However, following the return of Shreyas Iyer, Kishan was sidelined, which frustrated former cricketer Ajay Jadeja. He questioned team management’s tactics, as he believes that the southpaw is a runaway match-winner and stated that the cricketer should have featured in the playing XI for the last two T20Is of the series.

Notably, Kishan played just a couple of games in the recently concluded ODI World Cup, and hence, Jadeja believes that he should have been given the opportunity in the T20I series. He stated that in Indian cricket, players get rejected quite soon, which is not a positive side and questioned how long Ishan’s trials will go on as he is yet to become a regular player.

“There was a series right after the World Cup. Ishan Kishan played three matches and went home. Was he really that tired after three matches that he needed rest? He didn't even play a lot of games at the World Cup. He deserved his spot in the playing XI for the first few World Cup matches. How many Indian players have scored a double-century on a good day? 

“He can change the game on his day. When will he get ready? Will you keep him in on trial all the time? In the last two years, how many games has he played? This problem of Indian cricket is not of today, it is very old that we don’t select (players) but reject them,” Jadeja told Sports Tak.

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old started the T20I series in a remarkable fashion, hitting 58 runs off 39 deliveries in Visakhapatnam. Even in the second match of the series, stumper-batter hit a half-century in Thiruvananthapuram. However, he failed to get going in the T20I at Guwahati and following which the cricketer was dropped in favour of Shreyas. He however has been called up for the upcoming series against South Africa.