Former India captain and former chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes Ishan Kishan possesses all the attributes needed to succeed in Test cricket, but feels that the wicketkeeper-batsman is currently a victim of India’s cluttered red-ball game.Kishan has experienced an incredible revival in the past few months. After spending nearly two years on the sidelines, the left-hander returned to India’s T20I squad ahead of the World Cup and has now marked his ODI comeback with a stunning century against Afghanistan.While Kishan’s return to white-ball cricket has drawn widespread praise, Srikkanth feels the Jharkhand star is equally capable of making an impact in the longest format.“I’m a big fan of Ishan Kishan. He came back (into the Indian team) out of nowhere and he’s just doing brilliantly. I love his game. The sheer quality of his strokeplay, timing, power and effortless play. Ishan is an all-format player. In fact, he can play Test cricket too. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a slot,” Srikkanth told PTI.Kishan’s journey back to the national side has not been easy. After losing his central contract in 2024 due to concerns over his participation in domestic cricket, the diminutive batsman is back in action, working hard on his game and featuring in domestic competitions including the Buchi Babu Trophy.Srikkanth believes that a tough stance has been taken BCCI ultimately benefited the player.“The BCCI did a wise thing by asking him to go and play domestic cricket, which helped him a lot.He then captained Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph.”While discussing India’s selection dynamic, Srikkanth pointed to another player who he feels has not been given enough opportunities across formats despite consistently proving his credentials.The former selector described Yashasvi Jaiswal as a complete all-format cricketer but believes the rookie has been unfortunate to miss out on regular opportunities in white-ball cricket due to intense competition at the top of the order.“For example, Yashasvi Jaiswal is an outstanding cricketer. I think he is an all-format cricketer. But he is only used in Test cricket. Even in the last match or series against South Africa, he scored a century in one of the one-dayers.“And he’s got centuries in big Test-playing countries like England and Australia. I think he’s also amazing in T20 cricket. I think it’s just his bad luck that he’s been forgotten about in the shorter formats of the game,” said the 1983 World Cup winner.According to Srikkanth, the abundance of top talent has made picking a team increasingly difficult, especially when it comes to new venues.“It’s a problem especially at the beginning. It’s like a merry-go-round. Sometimes you’re there, sometimes you’re not there, sometimes someone else takes your place. It’s hard to come back. That’s part of cricket. But I think Jaiswal is an all-format player.”Srikkanth also expressed concern over what he described as a lack of continuity in selections, arguing that strong performances are sometimes too quickly forgotten due to the relentless international calendar.“Unfortunately what happens is some players get a chance and then sometimes they get forgotten, which shouldn’t happen. There needs to be continuity. But unfortunately what also happens is too much cricket is played. So we also forgot what happened in the last series,” Srikkanth said.Despite this concern, the former president of the selectors praised the current electoral commission and its president Ajit Agarkarwhile suggesting that more opportunities should be created for deserving local performers.“There are some players, despite doing so well in domestic cricket, they don’t find a place in the Indian side. I think that’s one correction the selection committee has to make even though Ajit Agarkar has done a brilliant job as chairman.“But Test cricket is the ultimate format for any cricketer. So in Test cricket, we will probably have to make some adjustments (change in approach),” Srikkanth said.
