India batter Ishan Kishan made his comeback to red-ball cricket in style, with a swashbuckling century in the Buchi Babu Trophy.
Kishan has not played for India since November 2023, when he played in a home T20I series against Australia. He requested a break from the team management during the tour of South Africa a month later, citing mental health reasons.
At the start of this year, he was left off the list of centrally-contracted Indian players, with reports suggesting the reason had been his non-participation in the final stages of the Ranji Trophy. After playing the 2024 IPL, he was set to make his red-ball comeback for Jharkhand in the Buchi Babu invitational tournament.
Read more: Buchi Babu Trophy 2024 Day 2 round up
Kishan got his chance to bat on day two of Jharkhand's face-off against Madhya Pradesh on Friday (August 16). He came in at 108-3 (effectively four down as opener Vikash Vishal had retired hurt). Kishan took his time at first, patiently making his way to 15 off 37 balls before beginning to accelerate.
He smashed 35 more runs off the next 23 balls to reach a 60-ball half-century. Kishan did not stop there, as he contineued to punish the Madhya Pradesh bowlers, plundering 54 more runs off the next 26 balls. He reached his century with a spectacular one-handed six off Adheer Pratap Singh, and eventually made 114 off 107 balls to help his side take a 52-run lead.
Watch Ishan Kishan reach his century off 86 balls with a one-handed six here
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
