The board of Cricket Control in India has announced a new contract for the players for the upcoming cricket season.
The duration of the new contract with BCCI would be from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.
A total of 30 players have been handed over to the central contact, divided into four groups, namely A+, A, B and C. However, two of the notable exclusions from BCCI’s Central Contract were Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who have been regular members of Team India’s across the three formats, have been axed from the new central contract.
In an official statement, BCCI said, “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.”.
Kishan had pulled himself out when Team India toured South Africa, citing mental health issues, and had made himself unavailable for selection for even playing domestic cricket for his state.
Team India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, requested that Ishan Kishan play domestic cricket on a number of occasions to make himself eligible for the team’s selection, but the star batter was unmoved by his decision to not play domestic cricket.
Iyer, on the other hand, was part of India’s set-up for the first two test matches against England but was dropped due to his poor form and back issues.
He even missed out on Ranji matches for the same, but was declared fit and eligible to play by NCA’s head, Nitin Patel.
After dropping Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, the BCCI issued a strict warning to players not to feature in domestic cricket.
In its press release, the BCCI said, “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 selection committee had also requested contracts for fast bowlers like Aakashdeep,Vyshak Vijayakumar, Umran Malik, and Yash Dayal.
