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India's 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to terminate the central contract of players who skipped Ranji Trophy 2023-24 matches. Dev called it a much-needed step to protect the status of domestic cricket.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded from BCCI's list of annual central contracts as they skipped domestic cricket.
Kapil did not take names but expressed his opinion as he told PTI, "Yes, few players will suffer, kuch logon ko taqleef hogi, hone do lekin desh se badhkar koi nahi hai (some people will feel hurt but let it be because nobody is bigger than the country). Well done."
"I congratulate the BCCI for taking the much needed step to protect the status of domestic cricket. I was sad to see domestic cricket being given the skip by players once they had established themselves in international cricket," he added.
Iyer and Kishan were in Grade B and Grade C in the last year's list of annual contracts. BCCI in its statement also made it clear that players should join their state sides when they are not playing international cricket.
Kishan continues to defy orders
Kishan did not play a single game for Jharkhand after he left the South Africa tour midway due to personal reasons. He trained in Baroda and recently played in the DY Patil T20 tournament instead of playing for Jharkhand which could not make it past the group stage.
Iyer returns to Ranji Trophy
On the other hand, Iyer missed just one Ranji game after he was released from India's Test squad for the last three Tests against England. Earlier, he played a game for Mumbai before joining the Test squad in Hyderabad for the first Test of the series. The Mumbai player has made himself for the semifinal clash against Tamil Nadu starting March 2.
"It was high time the message was given and this strong step by the BCCI will go a long way in restoring the prestige of domestic cricket," he further added.
Players owe it to state sides
The 65-year-old went on to say that the international players owe it to their state associations as it helps to groom other players for the highest level as well.
"I have always believed in the process of international players making themselves available to play for their respective states. It helps them extend their support to domestic players. Also it is a nice way to pay back for the services rendered by the state association in grooming a player," he said.
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