Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer losing central contracts ft. Aakash Chopra 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a radical decision by excluding Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contract list. It is indeed strange to find the pair, arguably in the prime of their careers and being all-format players, not included in the list among their peers.

Their absence stems from the fact that they opted to give precedence to the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) over domestic cricket. To make matters worse, the pair did not change their mind despite persistent warnings by the BCCI.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah had mentioned that there would be dire consequences if players followed the trend of ignoring domestic matches. Ishan Kishan had refused to play in the Ranji Trophy and was last present in the Indian squad during the South Africa tour before he withdrew himself citing the need for a mental break.

Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, initially refused to participate in the Ranji Trophy knockouts, claiming that he was dealing with an injury. However, after the physios at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) contradicted his statement, he was added to the Mumbai squad for the Ranji semi-final encounter.

BCCI's stern action against Kishan and Iyer has been the talk of the town, with several polarising reactions from the cricketing fraternity in general. On that note, let us take a look at the five expert reactions to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer losing central contracts.

#1 Aakash Chopra

The former Indian opening batter summarized the entire situation, speaking from the board's point of view in particular, as well as shedding light on where Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer went wrong exactly.

“It has been communicated by both Jay Shah and Rohit Sharma that you need to play domestic cricket and that if you are not serious about it, there will be consequences. No one directly says what the consequences are but these are the first signals about BCCI stating, ‘We don’t think you are serious, so your names have been removed,'" Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“Let’s be fair - Shreyas Iyer had scored 500 runs in the World Cup. His name not being there indicates that it’s a disciplinary rap on the knuckles. Don’t quote me on this but it seems like that. The same thing can be said about Ishan Kishan. He was a part of the squad but he took a break and did not come back to play first-class cricket when his team was playing," Aakash Chopra added

#2 Irfan Pathan

The former India all-rounder also shared his opinion about the situation with a post on X (formerly Twitter). Apart from mentioning that Iyer and Kishan are capable of making a comeback, he also raised the topic of all players being treated equally according to the new guidelines.

"They are talented cricketers, both Shreyas and Ishan. Hoping they bounce back and come back stronger. If players like Hardik don’t want to play red-ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty? If this doesn’t apply to all, then Indian cricket won’t achieve the desired results!" Irfan Pathan tweeted.

#3 Kirti Azad

Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad had some strong words for the omitted pair and completely backed the BCCI's decision regarding their respective central contracts. He raised a crucial point about players being responsible to play for their state associations, who groomed them at the formative stages of their careers.

"It's a good move. I think everybody should be playing domestic cricket, Ranji Trophy especially, because you come through the ranks and play for the country. It seems more emphasis is on IPL, which is fair enough, but real cricket is the day's cricket," Kirti Azad said in an interaction with PTI.

"Our calendar is such which is very busy but whenever you are free, whether you are Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli or X, Y, Z - you should go back to the basics, and you must play for the state which gave you the opportunity to play and perform and then be selected for the Indian side," he added.

#4 Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, under whose guidance these players broke into the Indian team across formats in recent times, offered a rare word of support in the myriad of criticisms against them by the general public.

Shastri stated that he has full belief in Kishan and Iyer and backed them to make a resounding comeback in the future.

"In the game of cricket, comebacks define the spirit. Chin-up, @ShreyasIyer15 and @ishankishan51! Dig deep, face challenges, and come back even stronger. Your past achievements speak volumes, and I have no doubt you'll conquer once again," Ravi Shastri tweeted.

#5 Sourav Ganguly

The former India skipper has worked quite closely with Shreyas Iyer during his first stint as director of the Delhi Capitals (DC). He has seen the player's rise as the franchise skipper and his transition into the national team as an all-format player.

Ganguly's stint as BCCI President coincided with Iyer's rise within the team, and as a result, he was particularly surprised by Iyer's actions in recent times.

"I think the BCCI wants them to play first-class cricket. I am surprised why Shreyas Iyer has not played Ranji Trophy. It is a premier tournament and you are supposed to play. So, it is a decision by BCCI and what they have thought right they have done. Every contracted cricketer must play first-class cricket because that is the basic premise of cricket in this country," Sourav Ganguly said in an interview with RevSportz.

"You are supposed to play first-class cricket. Once you are a contracted player, you are expected to play the premier tournament. Shreyas Iyer is playing in the semi-final for Mumbai in a couple of days' time. Yes, they are young people and Ishan has surprised me," Ganguly added.

"He was part of the Indian team in all formats. Such a big contract in IPL. I don't know why he has done that. You must play especially when you are as gifted as Ishan Kishan. When you are playing for India in all formats, you must play. I was surprised by his decision not to

What do you make of BCCI's decision to exclude Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contract list? Let us know what you think.