Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer haven’t been offered central contracts for 2023-24. The BCCI took an extreme step after taking their refusal to play the Ranji Trophy into account. The board secretary, Jay Shah, was miffed with the two players and assured of strict action if they didn’t turn up for their state sides. Ishan didn’t listen to him and head coach Rahul Dravid, which cost them big time.
Iyer and Kishan were part of category B and C in the previous season, respectively. Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar applauded BCCI for their tough stand on players refusing to participate in Ranji Trophy. Reacting to the annual contracts list, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted: “Well done to @BCCI for rewarding players who want to play the tough cricket and only for one reason…to face the ‘acid test’ as cricketers.”
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On the other hand, ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan shared a cryptic post as he wrote, “Unbelievable!”, possibly expressing his shock at some of the decisions taken by the board regarding the annual contracts.
Meanwhile, Iyer has agreed to play in the Ranji Trophy semi-final for Mumbai. He will lead Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
On the other hand, Ishan will turn up for Mumbai Indians in March. He has been a top performer for the five-time champions but is likely to be snubbed for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
