Report: Ajit Agarkar furious with Shreyas Iyer's KKR academy visit

In a major move, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) didn’t renew the central contracts of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for the season 2023-24. The decision was reportedly taken as the duo skipped domestic matches despite receiving repeated directives from the board. Notably, Iyer skipped Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy 2024 quarter final against Baroda due to a back injury.

However, the National Cricket Academy’s (NCA) medical team declared him fit to play. Iyer was also seen at the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) academy after he skipped the Ranji game which reportedly irked chief Selector Ajit Agarkar.

Also Read: What perks will Iyer and Kishan miss out after being removed from BCCI Contract?

According to a report in RevSportz, this factor played a major role in BCCI not renewing his contract. Notably, Agarkar was responsible for finalizing the contracts in the role of chief selector and hence decided to exclude Iyer’s name from the list of contracted players.

Following the entire controversy, Iyer has made himself available for the ongoing Ranji Trophy semi final against Tamil Nadu at the BKC Ground in Mumbai. The 29-year-old had a phenomenal ODI World Cup 2023 scoring 530 runs from 11 innings at an average of 66.25 and a strike rate of 113.24 with two hundreds and three fifties.

However, his Test form hasn’t been upto the mark since 2023 having scored just 187 runs from 12 innings at an average of 17. Iyer hasn’t scored a half-century in his last 13 innings. In the ongoing India vs England series, the Mumbai-born batter amassed 104 runs in the four innings of the first two Tests and hence was dropped due to his poor form.

Also Read: BCCI announce central contracts for 2023-24 season, Iyer-Kishan face the axe

Iyer and Kishan were part of Grade B and C respectively

Meanwhile, apart from Iyer, Ishan Kishan has also faced the axe from contract list. Notably, Iyer was a part of Grade B of the central contract in March 2023 earning INR 3 Crore annually, while Ishan Kishan was put in Grade C earning INR 1 Crore annually. The wicketkeeper batter last played for India in the five-match T20I series against Australia and left the South Africa tour midway due to mental fatigue.