Will Ishan Kishan be allowed to play in IPL 2024?

Ishan Kishan's absence from Ranji Trophy continued as the wicketkeeper-batter, who plays domestic cricket for Jharkhand, skipped the final round of matches that started on Friday, a move that will not go down well with BCCI.

Kishan's reluctance to play first-class cricket and focus only on the IPL forced the BCCI to make a minimum number of Ranji Trophy games mandatory for players in order to be eligible for IPL's auction pool.

Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer are also missing in action in the ongoing final round of matches that started across venues. Iyer is, however, having issues with his lower back and groin.

These three players -- Kishan, Chahar and Iyer -- were specifically told to play for their respective state teams in first-class cricket.

In the absence of Kishan, Kumar Kushagra continued doing wicket-keeping duties for Jharkhand.

Jharkhand, who have only one win and 10 points from six matches so far, are playing Rajasthan at home in their final round.

The manner in which Kishan has missed match after match since returning midway from the national's team South Africa tour citing "travel fatigue", hasn't gone down well with the men who matter in the Indian cricket establishment.

More so after it was found that he was training in Baroda with his new Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya while his state team languished near bottom of group A table in Ranji.

There is a general consensus that a strict policy needs to be adhered to so that young players don't make 'playing IPL to IPL' a habit.

India's centrally contracted players will have to play Ranji Trophy matches for their state teams and the BCCI will not tolerate any excuses for the same, secretary Jay Shah sad in Rajkot on Wednesday.

Shah said the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will be given a free hand to take a call on his own if a player refuses to follow instructions given by the team management.

"They have been informed on phone already and I'm going to write letters as well that if your chairman of selectors, your coach and your captain are asking for it then you will have to play red-ball cricket," Shah told the media.