The Board of Control for Cricket in India made a bold move by not naming Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan in the annual player retainership 2023-24. The two players' absence from the ongoing Ranji Trophy despite not being with the national team seems to be the main reason behind their removal from the contracts. The Indian Board explained the reason behind this in a statement while announcing the central contracts.
"Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations," the BCCI statement said. "The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team," it added.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had also warned the centrally contracted players to play for their state teams in the Ranji Trophy but the two did not turn up until Iyer finally being named in Mumbai's squad for the semifinal. Iyer was not named in the Indian team for the final three Tests against England but he did not play the final group game for Mumbai and did not turn up in the quarterfinal in the Ranji Trophy. He told his state side that he has back issues but the head of sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy reportedly said that Iyer did not had any fresh injuries.
Kishan pulled out from the national team ahead of the Test series against South Africa but has made a return to competitive cricket as he played in the DY Patil T20 Cup. However, he did not turn up for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy.
What privileges will they miss out on?
According to a report in Indian Express, Kishan and Iyer will be missing out on several privileges after not being named in the central contract. Players part of central contracts are given a minimum fixed retainership amount apart from their match fees as per their grades - A+, A, B and C. Players not part of any of these grades will only get match fees and not the fixed retainership.
Also, the centrally contracted players are allowed to use the National Cricket Academy when they want. But the others would need a clearance from their state associations to use it. Also, the contracted players also get insurance coverage.
