"You have to play..." - Pragyan Ojha reveals how Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer can make comeback in the Indian team.

Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have been excluded from the BCCI central contracts and the reason speculated for the same is their absence from domestic cricket after repeated notifications from the BCCI. Former India cricketer Pragyan Ojha has talked about the importance of domestic cricket especially in the longer formats of the game (Tests and ODIs).

Pragyan Ojha stated the importance of domestic cricket in the selection process of Test and ODI squads of the national team while keeping T20s aside from this discussion. He mentioned the prerequisites for players to have to make a comeback in the national team. Pragyan Ojha also mentioned that if the players don’t play domestic cricket, then they might also have a problem playing IPL in the future. Pragyan Ojha revealed how the two players can make their return to the squad.

“See if we talk about Test cricket or One-Day cricket, I’ll keep T20s out of discussion because a lot of players are available for that format and in domestic if you even talk about Syed Mushtaq Ali, there are a lot of established and veteran players playing in that tournament. However, if you want to play for the Indian team then the BCCI, coach, and captain according to whatever we have heard from them. They have made it clear that you have to play domestic cricket if you’re a contracted player then you have to play a minimum of three or four matches if you’re available.”

“If they don’t play then you can have a problem in the IPL also as I’ve heard. From now on, only the IPL will not be able to give most of the selections as domestic cricket will hold a lot of importance because domestic cricket is not something that only allows you to make a comeback. It is also something that gives you confidence as a player. The more you make runs using the red ball, the more you take wickets and the more you play, the more it will increase your confidence as we have seen the youngsters coming into the team,” said Pragyan Ojha on CricBuzz.

Watch- Pragyan Ojha talks about the importance of domestic cricket

🚨 ICYMI🚨#ShreyasIyer & #IshanKishan denied #BCCI central contracts 😲

How difficult will it be for the duo to make an #India comeback❓@PragyanOjha shares his thoughts, on #CricbuzzChatter#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/tylbktS98L

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) February 28, 2024

The BCCI has announced the central contracts this year and has made some ground-breaking decisions making it compulsory for the players not in the Indian team to play domestic cricket and also added a fast-bowling contract for budding pacers who are expected to make their debut in the Indian squad to motivate them in their performance and preparations.

The five pacers included in the fast-bowling contracts of the BCCI are Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vidwath Kaverappa, Yash Dayal, Umran Malik, and Akash Deep. Akash Deep recently made his Test debut for the national team during the fourth Test against England in Ranchi whereas Umran Malik has made his debut for India in limited-overs cricket. The other three pacers in the list are uncapped but are expected to make their debut in the upcoming series.