File photo of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan© Twitter
All is not finished for Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. The duo is in the headlines since the time they were excluded from the latest BCCI contracts. Despite being firmly in the BCCI’s scheme of things in the last couple of years, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded. Their axing is being perceived as a message from the cricket governing body to players who may show reluctance to play in domestic cricket.
Ishan Kishan, since he took a break midway into India’s Tour of South Africa, has been practising in Baroda rather than playing in Ranji Trophy for his state Jharkhand. Shreyas Iyer recently said that he was injured and missed a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai. However, according to a report in The Indian Express, the NCA report on him contradicted his claim.
Both of them did not find a place in the BCCI annual contract list. “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” the BCCI said in a release.
“The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team, a statement in the release added.
Cricket news website ESPNcricinfo was told by an official that the duo may still win a BCCI contract.
“The selectors don’t doubt their ability,” a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo.
“But if the NCA is saying you are fit and you are not making yourself available for the Test series, how can the BCCI offer you a contract? After the IPL, if they happen to get selected and fulfil the criteria of the number of matches required for a pro-rata contract, they will be awarded a contract.”
The BCCI release has a point mentioned in this regard. “Athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis,” it said. The period that is being implied is from October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024.
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