Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were dropped from the BCCI’s yearly central contracts for not showing up for domestic cricket matches even though they were fit, and former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan took aim at Hardik Pandya for it. Kishan and Iyer, according to BCCI, were “not considered” for the 2023–24 season’s yearly retainership. Despite the BCCI’s harsh orders, both of the teenage cricket players chose not to play in Ranji Trophy matches. In a very rare decision, the board chose to reprimand.
Iyer was in Grade B in the previous year’s contract and was a member of the Indian XI until the second Test match against England in Vizag, when he was dropped due to poor form. As opposed to this, Kishan was in Grade C. Since the South African Test series, the left-hander has not been eligible for selection. But for now, he’s competing in Navi Mumbai at the DY Patil T20 Cup.
“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” the BCCI stated in a statement. “The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team,” the organization stated.
“Shreyas and Ishan are both talented cricket players. “I hope they recover and return stronger,” Irfan Pathan, a former all-rounder for India, commented on X.
Pathan questioned the BCCI’s position on Hardik Pandya and urged the body to maintain the same regulations for all cricket players. Similar to Kishan and Iyer, Hardik did not participate in any Ranji Trophy matches; yet, he was maintained in Grade A as well as on the central contract list.
Should Hardik and similar players play white-ball domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty if they don’t want to play red-ball cricket? The intended outcomes for Indian cricket won’t be realized if this doesn’t apply to everyone.” wrote Pathan.
Hardik made his competitive comeback with the DY Patil T20 Cup. The all-rounder has been sidelined for months due to an ankle injury he sustained early in the ODI World Cup. Hardik hasn’t made himself available for the Ali T20 or the Vijay Hazare domestic one-dayers, albeit he isn’t currently in the running for Test cricket due to workload management.
The Mumbai Indians will be captained by Hardik in the upcoming March 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).