Sanju Samson Replaces Ishan Kishan in Duleep Trophy

Ishan Kishan sustained an injury during the Buchi Babu tournament. Sanju Samson and KS Bharat will be the two wicketkeeper batsman in the India D squad led by Shreyas Iyer.

Wicketkeeper batsman Ishan Kishan has withdrawn from the first round of the Duleep Trophy tournament, which begins today. The BCCI has confirmed that the 26-year-old, who was part of India D squad led by Shreyas Iyer, is withdrawing from the first round of the tournament due to an injury sustained during the Buchi Babu tournament. Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson will replace the Jharkhand cricketer in the Duleep Trophy squad.

Sanju was not in any of the four teams initially announced for the Duleep Trophy. Apart from Sanju, Indian wicketkeeper KS Bharat is the other gloveman in India D team led by Shreyas. Ishan was injured while playing for Jharkhand against Jammu and Kashmir in the recently concluded Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. the left-handed batsman played only two matches as Jharkhand were knocked out in the first round. Kishan, who smashed a century (114) in the first match, remained unbeaten on 41 runs in the second innings.

However, Kishan's scores in the second match were 1 and 5. The Mumbai Indians opener, who lost his annual contract for not following the BCCI's instructions to play domestic cricket last year, is aiming to make a comeback to the Indian team. The Duleep Trophy was a golden opportunity for the youngster to stake a claim for the second wicket keeper batsman in the Indian team.  India star Suryakumar Yadav and Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna have also withdrawn from the tournament due to injuries sustained during the Buchi Babu tournament.

India D squad for Duleep Trophy: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Atharva Taide, Yash Dhull, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Akshadeep Nath, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat, Saurabh Kumar, Sanju Samson.