Ishan Kishan has been left out of the Mumbai Indians (MI) playing XI for their clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The southpaw has been replaced by Aussie speedster Nathan Coulter-Nile.
The 22-year-old has had a pretty rough patch of form lately, having scored just 73 runs in five games of the IPL 2021 season. Ishan Kishan's inconsistency certainly cost MI dearly in their Chennai leg where they lost three out of the five games that they played.
The addition of Coulter-Nile gives the defending champions an extra bowling option and he can also come in handy with the bat down the order. Whether or not this is a right decision by the MI think-tank remains to be seen.
Twitter reacts to Ishan Kishan missing out for MI
Fans had mixed reactions to Ishan Kishan's exclusion from the playing XI. Some believed he had been made a scapegoat as the entire middle-order of MI failed in Chennai. However, others took a dig at MI skipper Rohit Sharma for not backing the talented youngster
Here is how Twitter reacted to Ishan Kishan missing out for MI:
Ishan Kishan was the highest run-scorer for the defending champions last season with a staggering 516 runs to his name at an incredible average of 57.33 and a strike-rate of 147.65. By virtue of this, MI won their fifth IPL title and the young left-hander received his maiden India call-up against England.
On his international debut, Ishan Kishan smashed a half-century at the top of the order, strengthening his chances of a place in India's T20 squad for the upcoming World Cup.
However, a poor start to the IPL 2021 season has dented hopes of Ishan wearing the Indian Blue anytime soon.
It will be interesting to see how the 22-year-old responds to this slump in form after witnessing such a high. MI will be hoping that Ishan gets a much-needed wake-up call and comes back to his best once again as soon as possible.
