BCCI takes a U-Turn on Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, ready to give conditional contracts to both the players

The treatment meted out to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan by the BCCI has surprised many. Both the players have lost their central contracts after ignoring the board and Indian team management’s directive to play in domestic cricket.

Many believe that while the BCCI is right to tell the players to focus on red-ball cricket, not giving central contracts to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer is a bit harsh. Both players were key members of the team not very long ago and were also a part of the squad for the ODI World Cup. Shreyas Iyer finished the World Cup as India’s third-highest run-scorer, scoring 530 runs with the help of two centuries and three half-centuries.

While announcing the central contracts, the BCCI stated that the batters were not even considered for contracts. The way things have panned out in recent times, it would not be wrong to say that they are unlikely to be considered for selection shortly. The 30 players who are given the central contracts are likely to be preferred ahead of the out-of-favour duo.

At the same time, it would be wrong to assume that they cannot be picked for not having central contracts. There have been several instances in the past when players without central contracts were preferred because of their form.

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Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer can still get contracts:

While only time will tell how things unfold in the coming days, a BCCI source has insisted that both Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan can still get their central contracts. For that to happen, both the players will have to earn a recall from the Indian team and will also need to play a required number of games in international cricket.

“The selectors don’t doubt their ability,” the BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. “But if the NCA is saying you are fit and you are not making yourself available for the Test series, how can the BCCI offer you a contract?

“After the IPL, if they happen to get selected and fulfill the criteria of the number of matches required for a pro-rata contract, they will be awarded a contract,” added the source.

Ishan Kishan’s international career is completely off the track as of now. He has not played for India since November last year. While he was a part of the T20I and Test squads for the South Africa tour, he did not play any T20I and took a break just before the Test series started. He has yet to return to the Indian team since then.

He recently returned to action in the ongoing DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi Mumbai. On the other hand, Iyer faced the axe after failing to do well in the first two Tests against England. Both the batsmen are set to return to high-profile cricket later this month when the IPL gets underway.

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