NEW DELHI: Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra suggests that Ishan Kishan has a significant chance to reinvigorate his career in IPL 2025, following his acquisition by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the mega auction.
Chopra noted his bewilderment regarding Kishan's absence from national selection discussions, considering his demonstrated batting capabilities.
"For whatever reason, he has completely disappeared from the radar. It seems like no one is talking about him or understanding his importance. He even played in the Ranji Trophy and scored runs there, he is doing everything, but no one is even talking about him," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Following his release from Mumbai Indians (MI), SRH secured Kishan for Rs 11.25 crore during the IPL auction in November. SRH's current opening partnership of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, who demonstrated exceptional performance last season, suggests Kishan might need to adapt to the number three position, which differs from his usual role.
Although Kishan achieved a notable ODI double century (210 off 131 balls) against Bangladesh in December 2022, he subsequently lost his position in the playing XI to Shubman Gill as opener. Since then, he has found it difficult to secure a position across all formats.
In terms of wicketkeeper-batsmen, the national team has favoured Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Sanju Samson for international matches. Additionally, Kishan no longer holds a BCCI central contract.
"You can come into reckoning once again. A keeper-batter who can open or bat in the top order, that is beautiful. Gautam (Gambhir) is anyway saying that they are all bogeys in a train; everyone has to go to the same destination, and it doesn't make a difference whether a bogey is in front or at the back. That basically means batting order does not exist in Indian cricket anymore," Chopra elaborated.
