IPL 2021: 'T20 WC less than 1 month away': Fans react as Mumbai Indians drop Ishan Kishan

The 42nd match of the Indian Premier League 2021 edition is currently taking place in Abu Dhabi between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings. Mumbai Indians have tweaked their starting XI in the hopes of making a comeback in the tournament and resuming their winning ways. The decision to leave Ishan Kishan out of the starting XI has gotten the most attention. Rohit Sharma, skipper of the Mumbai Indians has raised a lot of eyebrows by removing Kishan, who is also on India's T20 World Cup roster.

Sharma's decision to drop Kishan ahead of the next T20 World Cup has apparently not gone over well with netizens, who believe the Mumbai Indians skipper made a mistake by doing so. Kishan has not been in good form since the start of IPL phase two in the UAE, thus the development was unavoidable. Kishan has 107 runs in eight IPL 2021 matches so far, with only 34 runs coming in the second leg. In place of Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, who made a half-century in the first game of the UAE leg, was named to the playing XI. Here's how netizens mocked MI for its decision to drop Kishan. 

Ishan Kishan's rise

Ishan Kishan made his international debut earlier this year when he featured in the T20I series against England in March. Kishan displayed some superb form in the series, scoring a magnificent half-century in his very first international game. Kishan was then included in the Indian squad for a limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, where he carried his good form from the England series and scored a half-century in his ODI debut. Kishan has been awarded with a call-up for the T20 World Cup, where he has been included ahead of star Indian batters, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan. 

Apart from Ishan Kishan, Adam Milne has also been dropped from the playing XI. Nathan Coulter-Nile of New Zealand has come into the final XI in place of Milne. Mumbai Indians will be eager to win the match against Punjab tonight and strengthen its position in the points table, where it has slipped from the fourth position to seventh after the season resumed in the UAE. 

Image: iplt20.com/BCCI