Star India cricketers Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer did not find a place in the Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) for the 2023-24 season, which were announced on Wednesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Rumours were rampart over the duo being dropped from the contract list, which has now been finalised for the duration between October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024. “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” the BCCI said in a release on Wednesday.
Kishan had opted for a break midway through the tour of South Africa, before being dropped from the team for the T20Is against Afghanistan and the ongoing Test bilateral against England.
On Kishan’s non-selection, India head coach Rahul Dravid had said that the player is yet to make himself for selection, adding that the wicketkeeper-batter will have to play domestic cricket to get back into the national team.
Iyer, on the other hand, played the first two Tests against England, before being dropped from the squad for the last three games. BCCI didn’t give a reason behind his ouster from the team. However, he kept on missing the Ranji Trophy matches for his state team Jharkhand.
Iyer recently excused himself from a Ranji Trophy game of Mumbai due to a back issue. A report in the Times of India had predicted that the duo will be dropped from the BCCI contracts list.
After dropping Kishan and Iyer from the central contract list, BCCI, in their release, also warned the players to feature in domestic games when they are part of the national team.
“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 BCCI suggested.
Meanwhile, among the contracted players – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were placed in the highest – A+ – category. Six players – R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya – are in the A category.
“Additionally, athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis. For instance, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, having played 2 Test matches so far, will be inducted into Grade C if they participate in the Dharamsala Test Match, i.e., the 5th Test of the ongoing series against England,” a BCCI released said.
