Rohit Sharma reacts to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan's Central Contract termination by the BCCI
Published - 06 Mar 2024, 01:25 PM | Updated - 06 Mar 2024, 01:41 PM
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Indian skipper Rohit Sharma recently addressed the omission of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the latest central contracts. Rohit Sharma stressed that the players should participate in domestic tournaments when they are not representing the national team.
Recent discussions have centered around young players favoring the Indian Premier League (IPL) over domestic cricket. Ishan Kishan joined the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, for training ahead of the IPL 2024 season at the Kiran More Academy in Baroda.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the central contracts list for 2023-24 last week. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were notable omissions from the list, despite being regular members of the Indian national team over the past few months.
Players Need To Play Domestic Cricket – Rohit Sharma
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the fifth Test against England, Rohit Sharma emphasized the significance of domestic cricket, stressing that players should participate unless there are medical concerns.
“Players need to play domestic cricket unless their medical team has given a certificate. It is important. It is for everyone. I saw the Mumbai vs TN game. It’s crucial to give importance to domestic cricket which is the core of Indian cricket,” Rohit told reporters.
Rohit Sharma on #RanjiTrophy: Players need to play domestic cricket unless their medical team has given a certificate. It is important. It is for everyone. I saw the Mumbai vs TN game. It’s crucial to give importance to domestic cricket which is the core of Indian…
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) March 6, 2024
Ishan Kishan has been absent from the national team since he opted out of the Test series against South Africa last year due to mental fatigue. Despite BCCI’s directive, the wicketkeeper-batter did not participate in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 match for Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer was part of India’s squad for the first two Tests of the ongoing home series against England. The right-handed batsman was dropped from the squad for the remaining three matches following his string of poor outings in the format.
Shreyas Iyer And Ishan Kishan Were Not Considered – BCCI
The BCCI stated that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for annual contracts. According to a statement from the BCCI, all players should prioritize participating in domestic cricket when not representing the national team.
“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,” BCCI said in a statement.
Last year, Shreyas was on a Grade B contract, while Kishan was categorized under Grade C. Both players were part of the Indian squad that reached the 2023 World Cup final. Shreyas recently participated in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semifinal clash after being unavailable for their quarter-final match.
