Both these two players were part of the Indian side until very recently. Kishan last part of the Test squad during India’s Tour of South Africa in December, while Iyer played the first two Tests of the ongoing series against England. However, both the key players were removed from the contracts list.

“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” said BCCI in an official statement.

ALSO READ: BCCI terminates central contracts of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. Check full contract list here

Ishan Kishan’s case:

Looking at Ishan Kishan’s exclusion from BCCI’s list, it appears the board was unhappy with him not participating in domestic cricket during periods when he was not representing the national team.

Earlier on 17 December, when Ishan Kishan had left India’s Tour of South Africa, the BCCI had said, “Mr Ishan Kishan has requested the BCCI to be released from the upcoming Test series against South Africa citing personal reasons. The wicket-keeper has subsequently been withdrawn from the Test squad.”

Though it was expected that Kishan would play domestic cricket during his time away from the national team, the wicketkeeper-batter was absent from his state team Jharkhand’s Ranji Trophy matches.

Though India’s head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned that he needed to play some form of cricket to regain his place in the Indian squad, Kishan ignored it.

In the meantime, Kishan made a return to competitive cricket on Tuesday at the DY Patil T20 Cup.

Also, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had mentioned that centrally contracted players must play red-ball cricket.

Shreyas Iyer’s case:

Iyer did a fabulous job during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 but lost his momentum in Tests. In the two Tests played against England, Iyer has been battling poor form, following this, he was dropped after failing to leave a mark in the first two games.

“If Shreyas was to be rested because of injury, the BCCI medical bulletin would have had an update. Since there are no updates, it can be concluded that he has got the axe,” PTI quoted a source as saying then.

Following this, Iyer made himself unavailable for Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinals citing injury concerns. According to a report by Indian Express, the the National Cricket Academy (NCA) has said that he has no ‘fresh injuries’.

The report even cited an email from the head of sports science and medicine at the NCA – Nitin Patel – who said Iyer was fit. In the mail, it was also quoted Mumbai Cricket Association sources who said that the middle-order batter missed the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Baroda.

“Shreyas Iyer was fit and available for selection as per the handover report of the Indian team after the 2nd Test match against England. There are currently no fresh injuries reported as well after he departs from Team India,” Indian Express quoted Patel’s email.

With BCCI acting tough on these two key players, it looks like they want to send a stern message to all players who have national team aspirations.

With agency inputs.

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Published: 28 Feb 2024, 10:19 PM IST