'Paisa kamane chahiye lekin aise bhi nahi' - Praveen Kumar's straightforward take on IPL versus domestic cricket debate

Former India pacer Praveen Kumar shared his take on the Indian Premier League (IPL) versus domestic cricket debate that has taken the cricket fraternity by storm of late.

Talented Indian batters - Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan opted to skip Ranji Trophy matches for their respective domestic sides even after receiving clear instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to partake in them. This rubbed the cricket board the wrong way and the two players were subsequently excluded from BCCI's central contracts list.

Several fans and experts have welcomed this decision from the BCCI to prioritise domestic cricket. Praveen Kumar, who played 84 international matches across the three formats for India, said that players should look to earn money but that should not be done while disregarding domestic cricket.

"I have been saying this for long. Paisa kamao, kaun mana kar rha hai? Paisa kamane chahiye lekin aise bhi nahi hona chahiye ki aap domestic nahi khel rahe, country ko importance nahi de rahe. (Earn money, who is stopping you? But it shouldn't be like you are not playing for the country or domestic cricket). This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun (Will rest for a month before the IPL and then play. This happens because mentally you are not willing to let go of that money). But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong." the 37-year-old told Times of India in an interview.

Iyer made a comeback to the Ranji Trophy to play in the semifinals for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu at the Bandra Kurla Complex. He was dismissed for 3 runs in the first innings and didn't get an opportunity to bat in the second as Mumbai won by an innings and 70 runs to reach the finals.

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Meanwhile, Kishan was recently seen in action in the DY Patil T20 Cup. He will be donning the wicketkeeping gloves for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Iyer, on the other hand, will be leading the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 17th edition of the cash-rich league.