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In a major step taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Indian cricket board has reportedly decided to strip Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer of their central contracts. According to a report in the Times of India, Kishan and Iyer are set to be punished for constantly missing the Ranji Trophy matches.
"The selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, has almost finalised the list of centrally contracted players for the 2023-24 season too, which the BCCI will announce soon. Kishan and Iyer are likely to be excluded from that list, as both haven't been playing domestic cricket despite the BCCI's diktat to do so," Time of Indian quoted a source as saying.
Jay Shah fires direct warning to players
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah issued a stark warning to centrally-contracted Indian players, urging them not to prioritise the Indian Premier League (IPL) over domestic competitions like the Ranji Trophy. Despite this caution, prominent players such as Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, and Deepak Chahar have shown hesitance in participating in the current Ranji Trophy season, leading to potential "severe implications" for their careers.
Ishan Kishan continues to defy instructions
Ishan Kishan, who last donned the Indian jersey in November 2023 for a T20I match against Australia, had withdrawn from India's tour of South Africa in December, citing mental health concerns. Despite India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, emphasizing the need for game time for a comeback to the national team, Kishan has been absent from Jharkhand's Ranji Trophy matches. Instead, he was seen preparing for the upcoming IPL season in Baroda alongside Mumbai Indians' captain Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya.
Shreyas Iyer cites fitness issue behind missing Ranji Trophy matches
Shreyas Iyer's situation presents a similar story. The middle-order batsman missed Mumbai's last league match against Assam and was absent for the quarterfinal against Baroda. While Iyer cited a back injury as the reason for his unavailability, a communication from Nitin Patel, the head of sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), to the Mumbai Cricket Association selectors contradicted this claim, stating Iyer was fit for selection.
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