Out-of-favour batters Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were shown the exit door by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for ignoring the apex cricket board’s directive to feature in the Ranji Trophy on Wednesday. Shreyas Iyer and Kishan’s names went missing from the 30-player annual retainership list shared by the BCCI for the 2023-2024 season. With opinions taking flight after BCCI unveiled the list of centrally-contracted players.
For the first time, the BCCI who received the fast bowling contracts. The selection committee has been handing out fast-bowling offers to Indian pacers since the 2021-2022. Speedsters Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa have made the cut for the season.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan lose BCCI contracts
Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Ishan Kishan was given a Grade C contract last year. Kishan received a personal break from the BCCI when India toured South Africa. Kishan last played for India in November last year. However, the wicketkeeper-batter showed up to play the DY Patil T20 Cup in Mumbai. The 25-year-old did not play for Jharkhand throughout the Ranji season.
His former India teammate Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of Mumbai’s Ranji quarterfinal against Baroda. Iyer has made himself available for Mumbai’s semi-final clash with Tamil Nadu
Shreyas Iyer played the first 2 Tests- Kamran Akmal
Pakistani keeper-batter Kamran Akmal believes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did the right thing by terminating Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s central contracts.
Reacting to Iyer’s reported reluctance to play first-class matches, Akmal stated that a senior player should set better examples for the youngsters. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, he said:
“Shreyas Iyer played the first two Tests of the series. If you don’t value the cricket because of which you made it to the national team, what message is it going to give to all the youngsters?,”
It is worth mentioning that Shreyas Iyer did play Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy 2024 match against Andhra after being left out of India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan home series. He scored a run-a-ball 48 in the first innings. The right-handed batter is also named in Mumbai’s squad for their upcoming semifinals against Tamil Nadu, which is set to be played in Mumbai from March 2 to 6.
BCCI has made the right call- Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal reserved high praise for the BCCI for not retaining Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan in their new central contract list. He suggested that, after this decision, no other player would think of opting out of first-class matches.
Lauding the BCCI, the 42-year-old added:
“BCCI has made the right call, taking such strict action early on to control the damage. If they had given them a levy and handed them central contracts, a lot more players would have started playing on their own terms in the future. India have given a message to their players to ensure that nobody even thinks of doing something like this the next time. This is proof of good management. Nobody is bigger than the game,”
The focus will be on Shreyas Iyer in the Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinal, considering his underwhelming form in red-ball cricket. His last half-century in Test cricket came in December 2022 against Bangladesh.