BCCI's decision to not consider Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for the central contract became the centerpoint of a debate with several cricket pundits praising the move. The players' potential reluctance to feature in the domestic Ranji Trophy tournament came hard on them.
The Indian board had earlier warned the centrally contracted players to take part in domestic cricket, making it crystal clear that not doing so would "carry severe implications". The two players still did not appear in the red-ball tournament before Iyer played in the semifinals for his state side Mumbai. He skipped the last league game and the quarterfinal reportedly due to an injury but the the head of sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy - Nitin Patel said there were "no fresh injuries" reported after departing from the Indian team.
Kishan has returned to competitive cricket after a long break but is preparing for the IPL. He pulled out from the Indian team ahead of the Test series against South Africa and did not play for Jharkhand in the domestic tournament. He trained with his new Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya in Baroda and made a competitive return in the DY Patil T20 Cup where he featured for RBI in a game against Route Mobile Limited.
The duo's absence from the domestic tournament did not go down well with the Indian Board, which hit them with a removal from the central contract.
Notably, the cricket pundits have also praised BCCI's decision. 1983 World Cup winner Kirit Azad praised the move. "It (directive) is a very good move. Everybody should be playing Ranji Trophy cricket, but currently the emphasis is on the IPL. It is good, it is entertaining but the real cricket is the (five) days' cricket. Playing in domestic cricket is good, it keeps you in touch," Azad told PTI.
Shastri lauded the move of introducing fast-bowling contracts and backed the decision to remove Iyer and Kishan. "Big applause to BCCI and JayShah for the game-changing move with 'fast bowling' contracts. A crucial step in gearing up for Down Under later this year. The emphasis on Test Cricket and Domestic Cricket is a powerful message, setting the right tone for the future of our beloved sport!" Shastri wrote on X.
We asked our India TV readers if they think that BCCI's decision was right or not. We received more than 9000 votes for the poll question "Do you agree with BCCI's decision to exclude Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the central contract?". Notably, most of the people were of the view that BCCI's decision was the right one. A total of 66.76% of people voted for yes with 29.10& saying that the decision was not correct. A total of 5.07% of people voted for can't say.
Do you agree with BCCI's decision to exclude Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the central contract?
Total votes: 9128
Yes: 66.76%
No: 29.10%
CS: 5.07%
