Shreyas Iyer set to reclaim BCCI central contract under Gautam Gambhir's new regime

Out-of-favour India batsman Shreyas Iyer is reportedly set to be back in the BCCI central contracts. The right-handed batsman has not played for Team India since the Test series against England earlier this year.

He was dropped from the squad after the second Test of the five-match series and has not earned a recall since then. At that time, reports stated that although Shreyas Iyer had complained about a back issue, he was cleared for selection. During that same period, the BCCI had also directed all the players to play for state teams when they were not a part of the Indian team.

However, Shreyas Iyer missed the Ranji games for Mumbai after being dropped from the Test squad. Not only that, he had also attended a Kolkata Knight Riders pre-season camp after deciding against playing for Mumbai.

He did return to play for Mumbai in the semifinal and the final but the BCCI was miffed with his actions and had already taken a big call. The BCCI decided against handing him a central contract. Apart from Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan also lost the central contract as well for not playing Ranji games for Jharkhand.

However, the board is now all set to give Shreyas Iyer a central contract. According to the Indian Express, the Mumbai star is set to earn a recall for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. And with his return to international cricket, he will also find a place in BCCI’s annual contract.

Interestingly, the BCCI took the call right after Gautam Gambhir's appointment as the head coach of the team. Iyer and Gambhir had worked together for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year. While Iyer was the captain, Gambhir was the mentor as the duo guided the Kolkata-based outfit to its third IPL title.

Shreyas Iyer looks to impress:

Shreyas Iyer will be looking to hit the ground running if he indeed finds a place in the Indian team for the upcoming ODI series. He was one of India's best performers with the bat in the ODI World Cup last year and is likely to get a place in the playing XI if he is picked in the squad.

He was India's third-highest run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 530 runs in 11 games with the help of 2 centuries and 3 fifties.