In a nail-biting encounter between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 5 of the IPL 2024 season, MI found themselves in a tough spot right from the start against GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Tasked with chasing a target of 169 runs, MI’s batting lineup faced a daunting challenge, and their troubles compounded in the very first over of the innings. Opening batsman Ishan Kishan, known for his explosive batting, suffered an early setback as he departed without scoring a run, falling victim to Afghanistan’s pace sensation, Azmatullah Omarzai.
Omarzai showcased his skillful seam bowling, delivering a well-executed outswinger that proved too good for Kishan. Despite the left-hander’s attempt to guide the ball past point, he only managed to edge it to GT’s wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, marking a disappointing start to his innings with a duck.
Fans have reignited discussion about the BCCI’s decision to omit certain players from the contract list.
For those unaware, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer found themselves excluded from the Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) for the 2023-24 season, as declared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The contracts, covering the period from October 1st, 2023, to September 30th, 2024, raised eyebrows with the absence of these two promising players, triggering speculations about their exclusion.
Ishan Kishan, who was spotted training alongside Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya ahead of IPL 2024, has chosen to opt out of the Ranji Trophy. Reportedly, Kishan cited a desire to focus on specific technical aspects of his game and expressed feeling underprepared for red-ball cricket as the reasons behind his decision. Instead, he plans to participate in the DY Patil T20 tournament, sparking a discussion about his dedication to the longer format.
List of contracted players for 2023-24:
Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade A: R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Grade B: Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar.
Fast Bowling contracts: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.
Here is what netizens are trending on twitter (now X) after Ishan Kishan departed for duck –
Ishan Kishan 🤣 pic.twitter.com/aUsjx2rnD2
— Dennis❤️ (@DenissForReal) March 24, 2024
People were thinking Ishan Kishan is in Hardik's side when he was practicing with him. Na bro, he was keeping eye on Hardik bcoz Ishan is Rohit's child.
Bro ❤️😭 pic.twitter.com/UhnXugRs3q
— ISHU YADAV (@IshRo45) March 24, 2024
Four ball duck for Ishan Kishan. pic.twitter.com/9bp0LUgker
— Gopal Singh (@gopusingh4044) March 24, 2024
