Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded from the BCCI's annual central contracts because they didn't participate in domestic cricket. Last year, Iyer and Kishan were placed in Grade B and Grade C, respectively, in the annual contracts. The BCCI clearly warned Indian players that they should start engaging themselves in domestic cricket when not playing any international matches.
Kishan didn't feature in any of matches for Jharkhand in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season after leaving the South Africa tour abruptly due to mental fatigue. Instead, he was seen practising in Baroda alongside Hardik Pandya. Of late he was seen featuring in the DY Patil T20 tournament.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer missed only one Ranji Trophy game after being released from India's Test squad for the last three matches against England. Before joining the Test squad in Hyderabad for the first Test of the series, he played a match for Mumbai.
Ganguly addresses 'Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan' issue
During a conversation at the Arun Jaitley Stadium during DC’s camp on March 1, Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly addressed the issue of BCCI dropping Kishan and Iyer from central contracts, sparking discussions about the importance of First-Class cricket.
Ganguly noted that it's uncommon for a player to disregard or overlook red-ball domestic cricket. Historically, most players have participated in the Ranji Trophy when they were free. He said that the BCCI will address this matter appropriately.
51-year-old Ganguly suggested that the younger generation may prioritise white-ball cricket for establishing a successful IPL career, given the limited opportunities to play Test cricket for India.
“They can play both red-ball and white-ball. IPL career can happen along with stint in first-class cricket. They don’t clash. Firstclass cricket finishes and then there’s almost a month before the IPL starts. I don’t see any problem. A lot of the top quality players play Test cricket and white-ball cricket. You look at Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant,” Ganguly told Times of India.
On the world stage, there’s Mitchell Marsh. He is Australia’s premier red-ball player now. Harry Brook plays red-ball cricket. David Warner played so much Test cricket but he was also one of the best white-ball players. Even in my days, Sachin, Rahul and myself played Test cricket and then played white-ball cricket. There’s no reason to say that you can play one and not the other," he added.
Ganguly's views on the importance of Ranji Trophy performances in an IPL franchise
“You look at everything. I am not saying you should only look at Ranji performances. You look at white-ball performances and then Ranji Trophy performances. What happens is that the Ranji Trophy season is two months long. And if you are out of the Ranji Trophy season and you finish your domestic season in the month of Nov or early Dec, then you are playing next in April. There’s too much gap between game time,” he added.
Ganguly went on to say that Younger players also cite workload management at the state level as a factor.
“Honestly, workload is only for fast bowlers. Why do batters need any workload management? I can understand Bumrah being rested. Jimmy Anderson has played over 160 Tests. What workload are you talking about at the start of your career? I still maintain that Indian cricket’s standard is superb,” Ganguly further added.
Ganguly also mentioned the importance of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, President Roger Binny, and the selectors having a conversation with Kishan, considering his consistent participation in the Ranji Trophy throughout his career.
"For someone like Ishan Kishan, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, president Roger Binny and the selectors need to speak to him. All this while he has played Ranji and then played white-ball cricket. Has it made him a poorer player? It hasn’t.
All the players picked in Delhi Capitals have played Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy. Even Ishant Sharma has played Ranji. Khaleel Ahmed has played the full season after a long time.
We worked with him in the off season and got him fit to play Ranji. There are only one or two exceptions who need to be spoken to."
The Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals explained the difference between India and other countries regarding participation in other leagues. He emphasised the importance of consistently playing domestic cricket throughout the season. He added that Rishabh's return in good shape is a significant boost for us. We're optimistic that he'll be available for the entire season as he's a truly exceptional player.
“The difference with other countries is that the players there also play in other leagues, which doesn’t happen in India. So, you have to keep playing your domestic cricket through the season. That’s part of professional sport. Rishabh coming back fit is a huge addition for us. We hope he plays the full season because he is a very special player. We have worked on some domestic players who have done well in all formats. But Rishabh is very important,” Ganguly concluded.
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