Amid Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer's central contract snub, India's experienced wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha emphasised that participation in domestic cricket cannot be forced upon a player if he is reluctant to play it, underscoring the importance of domestic cricket as a fundamental element for success that all players should appreciate.
Saha's comment came in the backdrop of recent exclusion of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the annual player contracts list for the 2023-24 season, announced on Wednesday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) clarified that these two players did not feature in the latest round of contract recommendations.
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Nothing can be forced: Saha
"That is BCCI's decision and personal decision of concerned players. Forcefully, you can't do anything," Saha said, as quotes by Times of India.
Until quite recently, both players were part of the Indian cricket team and participated in the 50-overs World Cup last year. Kishan was part of the Test squad for India's tour to South Africa in December, while Iyer took part in the first two Tests of the ongoing series against England.
Saha mentioned that a cricketer ought to treat every game with equal importance, sharing his own approach as an example.
"Whenever I am fit I play, even I played club matches, office matches as well. I always treat a match as a match. All matches are equal for me. If every player thinks on those lines, they will only prosper in their career and it will be better for Indian cricket as well," he said.
"I feel the importance of domestic cricket is always there because if I talk about Sarfaraz Khan, he had scored plenty of runs in the last 4-5 years. Definitely, he has delivered," he added.
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Saha lauds Dhruv Jurel's special batting
Meanwhile, Saha, who has played 40 Tests and amassed 1,353 runs while affecting 104 dismissals (92 catches and 12 stumpings), lauded the exceptional batting performance of newcomer wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, describing it as 'amazing'. On his Test debut during the third Test, Jurel made an impressive 46, followed by scores of 90 and 39 in the fourth Test at Ranchi, which secured him the player of the match award.
"I have never seen him (Jurel) in domestic cricket, even in Test matches I have seen in him highlights. But his batting is outstanding, he won the last Test for the team," he said.
Saha also expressed optimism about the future of Indian cricket, attributing it to the team's strong reserve strength. He reiterated the significance of the domestic circuit in nurturing this talent.
"It is always good to see that your reserve bench is ready, whenever somebody is getting chance," he said.
"Over that, some players are getting opportunity but don't want to play, which they shouldn't. Whenever you get a chance to play, you should play whether it is red ball or white ball," Saha concluded.
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