In mid-2023, Ishan Kishan was an all-format player for India. With Rishabh Pant having suffered a horrific road accident, and K.S. Bharat not so impressive, Kishan made his Test debut in the West Indies that July and was also part of the limited-overs squads.
But since then, the dashing wicketkeeper-batter hasn’t played a red-ball game for India, and did not feature in a single white-ball international for two full years in 2024 and 2025.
It is only now, since the start of 2026, that he has regained his spot in T20Is and ODIs. A Test call-up is far, but the 28-year-old has his eyes set on making another comeback from the margins.
“I love this game,” Kishan said after leading East Zone to a thumping innings and 210-run victory over North East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal on Tuesday. “I enjoy it because when you are in the middle, the ball is moving, players are coming at you, and there is banter.
“It’s easier to bat on flat tracks and it’s fun as well, but competition in Tests is something different. People don’t believe me when I say that, but I really do enjoy red-ball cricket.”
But being a regular in the white-ball set-up means he barely gets any time to turn out in whites. Prior to this outing, his last First Class match was more than nine months ago. It is highly likely that the Duleep Trophy will be his only brush with the long format until early 2027.
“That is the fun part actually,” Kishan insisted. “You need to put a lot of effort to get back in the Test team. Dhruv [Jurel] is doing so well; Rishabh [Pant] is doing so well.
“But I am very happy for them, [despite] being a competitor. My job is to not think about what can go wrong for them. My job is to just keep getting better”.
