The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its annual player contracts for the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, and two prominent names were missing from the list: Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. The duo, who were part of the Indian team till very recently, have been dropped from the central contracts after failing to comply with the BCCI’s directive to play domestic cricket.
Ishan Kishan, the wicketkeeper-batter, had requested to be released from the Test series against South Africa in December, citing personal reasons. However, he did not play any Ranji Trophy matches for his state team Jharkhand, despite being advised by the Indian coach Rahul Dravid, and the BCCI secretary Jay Shah to do so. He only returned to competitive cricket on Tuesday, playing in the DY Patil T20 Cup.
Shreyas Iyer, the middle-order batter, was also in poor form in Test cricket. He was dropped from the last three Tests against England after scoring only 62 runs in four innings. He too ignored the BCCI’s instruction to play red-ball cricket and instead opted to play in the DY Patil T20 Cup.
The BCCI, in its release, stated that “all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team”. It also said that “the BCCI has recommended that all centrally contracted players, who are not in the national team, play red-ball cricket”.
The decision to drop Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the contracts is seen as a tough stance by the BCCI to send a message to the players that domestic cricket is important and cannot be taken lightly. The duo will now have to prove themselves again in the domestic circuit and hope for a recall to the national team.
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