Twitter Reactions: Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan 'not considered' in BCCI's central contract restructure
It is understood that the BCCI's decision came after the duo allegedly refused to participate in the 2024 Ranji Trophy, after not being part of the ongoing Test series for contrasting reasons.
In a surprising turn of events, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its central contracts for 2023-24, leaving netizens abuzz with reactions as both Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan found themselves missing from the list. In particular, the BCCI's move came despite the duo having featured in India's Cricket World Cup campaign in 2023.
35 players featured in the central contracts list, including Indian captain Rohit Sharma and other notable players; Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja, who were all retained in the top-tier A+ grade. Iyer and Kishan, meanwhile, have lost their contracts after missing the majority of the current domestic cricket season. Regarding retainer contracts, Ishan was in Grade C while Iyer was in Grade B in the 2022–2023 season.
Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is in the Grade A category along with prominent pacers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, as well as KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Hardik Pandya. Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal were the five players in Grade B. Meanwhile, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Mukesh Kumar, and Sanju Samson were some of those among the fifteen cricketers included in the Grade C category.
Iyer, who was known for his consistent performances, was an important part of India's middle-order in all formats of the game. He finished seventh overall and third for India in the run-scoring chart in the 2023 ODI World Cup after amassing 530 runs in 11 games, including two tons at an outstanding strike rate of 113.24 and an average of 66.25. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan, the dynamic wicketkeeper-batter, has drawn a lot of attention for his explosive performances in recent times, specifically in the T20I format.
The exclusions have triggered a heated online debate, with fans expressing a mix of sentiments, with some questioning the BCCI's selection criteria, highlighting the importance of transparency in the decision-making process. However, it is understood that the decision came after the duo allegedly refused to take part in the ongoing 2024 Ranji Trophy.
Here is how ‘X’ reacted after Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan missed out on BCCI central contracts:
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