Ishan Kishan took his first step towards a potential return to the Indian team after he smashed a stunning century for Jharkhand in the opening round of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament. The India wicketkeeper-batter, captaining his state team, smashed back-to-back sixes to bring up the three-figure mark on his return to the red-ball format in the match against Madhya Pradesh in Thirunelveli on Friday.

Kishan walked out to bat at No. 6 for the Jharkhand Cricket Association side on Day 2 of the match after Madhya Pradesh were folded for just 225 runs. The left-handed batter made a cautious start even as his side stood just eight runs away from taking a lead in the match, with Ishan scoring a 61-ball fifty before teeing off.

Ishan smashed nine sixes in the next 39 balls as he notched up a century in just 86 balls on his first red-ball appearance since making his Test debut for India in the tour of West Indies in July 2023. Ishan eventually scored 114 off 107, enough for Jharkhand to go past Madhya Pradesh.

Ishan Kishan adds to selectors' headache

The century knock will come in handy for Ishan, who will next feature in the Duleep Trophy, where some of the Indian regulars and emerging talent will also participate. The tournament, which will be played between September 5 and 24 in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, and M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, will play a crucial role in the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee's decision to pick the squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

Earlier this year, Ishan was ignored for the BCCI central contract in February, after he did not pay heed to the board's directive to participate in domestic cricket when away from international action. Ishan had taken a mental health break in December 2023 and only made his return to action in IPL 2024, but was snubbed for all three white-ball series India played after the T20 World Cup in June.

With selectors putting Ishan back in the scheme of things, he will be in competition with the likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel for the two spots in the India Test squad for the Bangladesh series.