Ishan Kishan refuses comeback offer amid Rishabh Pant’s injury setback: Reports

The Indian Cricket Team is facing an injury crisis in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Before the start of the fourth match, Nitish Reddy, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh were ruled out of the match due to injury. The selectors added Anshul Kamboj to the squad as a replacement for Akash Deep. With Prasidh Krishna warming the benches, and Kamboj added to the team, the management had two players in contention for one spot. 

However, they decided to give the newcomer a chance in the Manchester Test in place of Krishna. It was a tough call and got many backlashes as well. Despite Krishna's good bowling in the first two matches, skipper Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted to try out someone with a good bounce and pace. The 24-year-old player was brilliant in the warm-up matches against England Lions, taking five wickets in three matches.

The hard work finally paid off, and Kamboj got his maiden Test cap ahead of the fourth Test match. However, injuries have crippled the Indian squad and tested the bench strength. During the match, star batter Rishabh Pant sustained a toe injury, leading to a fracture. He tried playing a sweep shot against Chris Woakes, but the ball hit his toe, leaving the player in pain. As per the recent development, Pant is ruled out of the fifth Test match, and for his replacement, the Tamil Nadu batter, N. Jagadeesan, is added to the squad. 

As per reports, before reaching out to him, the selectors offered Ishan Kishan a place in the team, keeping his recent domestic record in mind. However, the left-handed batter sustained an ankle injury and had to turn down the offer. "Ishan Kishan won't be available to travel to England. He is not fully fit as he sustained an ankle injury. The selectors reached out to him, but it has been conveyed to them that Ishan can't make it,” said a source as quoted by Hindustan Times. 

Despite being in pain, Pant showed a lot of courage and came back to bat in the first innings. He went on to slam a half-century before getting dismissed by Jofra Archer. England's skipper Ben Stokes is in solid form as he claimed a fifer against India. The Men in Blue scored 358 runs in the first innings.