I’ll stick with Jharkhand: Ishan Kishan on Bihar’s re-entry in Ranji Trophy

Bihar may make a comeback in cricket’s domestic circuit after the Supreme Court asked BCCI to implement all recommendations of the Lodha Committee, including granting full membership to the eastern state. But one of its young stars, who led India in the U-19 World Cup, Ishan Kishan, may not be part of the team, when the big day arrives.

The apex court’s decision, which hasn’t been implemented yet, however brings much needed relief to both the players and the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) that was de-affiliated by then BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya in 2001. BCA was granted associate membership on February 19 earlier this year. At present, the state’s cricketers, including Kishan, play for other states to pursue their dreams. He was selected to play for Jharkhand in 2014.

“It’s wonderful to know that Bihar might take part in the domestic tournaments,” Kishan said. “There are a few players who can’t travel to other states for giving trials over and over again. A player from another state doesn’t always make it through a team at the first go. For players from economically weak backgrounds, travelling over and over again isn’t possible. The state has a number of quality players who fail to make it big as there are no platforms. There are a number of players who gave up playing cricket as they thought there was no future,” he added.

Kishan, however, doesn’t plan to switch sides and represent Bihar. “I don’t know about the future, but as of now, I want to keep playing for Jharkhand. I have learnt a lot from the team and want to lift the trophy with Jharkhand. That’s my first goal. I haven’t thought of playing for Bihar yet as there are no certainties regarding its representation. So for now, I am a Jharkhand player,” he said.

“I got everything from this state. Whatever I have achieved till date, is because of the opportunities that I’ve received playing for Jharkhand. Thus, I want to lift the Ranji trophy with them first and then think about everything else,” he said.

‘Not approached yet’

Ishan said he hasn’t been approached by any officials from Bihar to represent the state yet. “If I ever play for Bihar I will try my best to boost the quality of cricket in Bihar. The state will need a bit of time to start performing at the big stage,” Ishan said. “After being away for nearly 15 years, the officials and the players need to learn a lot from other states. They must get used to the concept of training camps, trials, etc. You can’t build a team all of a sudden. The officials need to get a fair idea regarding the domestic schedule that almost runs through the year.”

He debuted for Jharkhand in 2014 and went on to score five half-centuries and a hundred in his first 10 first-class matches. Though he did not have a successful run in the World Cup, scoring just 73 runs in six matches, he led the side to the final where they lost against West Indies. The southpaw was bagged by Gujarat Lions for 35 lakh rupees during the 2016 IPL season. He featured in 5 games aggregating 42 runs.