Commentator Aakash Chopra suggests that the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the BCCI central contracts list reflects a disciplinary reprimand for the pair’s actions.
Chopra highlights that both players came under scrutiny for their absence from their respective Ranji Trophy teams in 2024, despite BCCI directives mandating centrally contracted cricketers to participate in domestic matches when not on national duty.
Discussing their omissions from the central contracts, Chopra underscores that this may be the consequence of their failure to adhere to the cricket board’s directives.
“In the press release, it was mentioned that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered,” Chopra noted on his YouTube channel. “It has been communicated by both Jay Shah and Rohit Sharma that you need to play domestic cricket and that if you are not serious about it, there will be consequences.
No one directly says what the consequences are, but these are the first signals about BCCI stating, ‘We don’t think you are serious, so your names have been removed’,” he elaborated.
Highlighting Shreyas Iyer’s stellar performance in the 2023 World Cup, Chopra suggests, “Let’s be fair – Shreyas Iyer had scored 500 runs in the World Cup. His name not being there indicates that it’s a disciplinary rap on the knuckles.”
Regarding Ishan Kishan, who is currently playing in the DY Patil T20 Cup 2024 after his team Jharkhand did not qualify for the Ranji Trophy semifinals, Chopra points out, “He took a break and did not come back to play first-class cricket when his team was playing.”
Shreyas Iyer is set to participate in the Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinals for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu.
