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Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan being omitted from the BCCI central contracts list hints at a disciplinary rap on the knuckles for the duo.
Both Shreyas and Kishan were under the scanner after they did not turn out for their respective teams in the Ranji Trophy 2024, despite a BCCI directive asking centrally contracted cricketers to play domestic matches if they are not on national duty.
While discussing omissions of Shreyas and Kishan from the BCCI 2023-24 central contracts, Chopra said that the two may have paid the price for not following the cricket board’s instructions.
“There are already 30 players in the list, which will become 32 after India’s next match. If your name is not among the 32 players, then it merits a question as to what has happened. In the press release, it was mentioned that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“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’,” the former India opener added.
Pointing out to Shreyas’ exceptional 2023 World Cup performance, the 46-year-old commented:
“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.”
Shreyas will be featuring in the Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinals for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu. Kishan’s team, Jharkhand, has not made it to the last four, so there is no question of him playing in the tournament. He is currently representing Reliance in the DY Patil T20 Cup 2024.
What BCCI said about Shreyas and Kishan while announcing central contracts
In an official press release on Wednesday, February 28, the BCCI announced the central contracts for 2023-24.
The release included a statement on Shreyas and Kishan’s exclusion, which read:
“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.
“The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team,” the press release on BCCI contracts concluded.
Shreyas was dropped from the Indian team after the first two Tests against England, while Kishan hasn’t played an international match since November last year.
