Star Indian cricketers Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are at risk of losing their central contracts with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to their failure to participate in the Ranji Trophy, despite the BCCI’s mandate for players to compulsory play in the domestic red-ball tournament. Kishan has been unavailable for the Indian team since choosing not to participate in the series against South Africa earlier this year. Additionally, Iyer faced exclusion from the India squad for the final three Test matches against England.

Central Contracts In Jeopardy For Kishan And Iyer?

As per a report from The Times of India, the BCCI is expected to release the list of players under central contracts for the 2023-24 season shortly. However, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are anticipated to be omitted from the list as a consequence of their failure to participate in the Ranji Trophy despite repeated warnings.

“The selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, have almost finalised the list of centrally-contracted players for the 2023-24 season too, which the BCCI will announce soon. Kishan and Iyer are likely to be excluded from that list, as both haven’t been playing domestic cricket despite the BCCI’s diktat to do so,” TOI quoted a source as saying.

Players’ Non-Participation In Domestic Cricket Concerning To BCCI

Ishan Kishan has been consistently avoiding participation in Jharkhand’s Ranji Trophy matches, despite receiving multiple warnings from the BCCI. Meanwhile, he has been reportedly seen practicing with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya in Baroda in preparation for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024. Kishan has been out of action since returning from the South Africa tour, citing ‘personal reasons.’ He made himself unavailable for the three-match home T20I series against Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer was dropped from India’s squad for the last three Tests against England in the ongoing IND vs ENG Test series, citing back pain and poor form. He also opted out of Mumbai’s final league match and quarterfinal against Assam and Baroda, respectively, informing the Mumbai Cricket Association of his decision due to back spasms. 

However, as per the report, National Cricket Academy (NCA) head of sports science and medicine, Nitin Patel, stated that Iyer was ‘fit’ with ‘no fresh injuries.’ The TOI report further suggests that ‘a source close to Iyer’ said that the NCA’s fitness assessment was conducted after the second Test against England, revealing that Iyer has been grappling with back pain since that time.

Ahead of the 3rd IND vs ENG Test between in Rajkot, BCCI secretary Jay Shah issued a stern warning to players, emphasizing the mandatory requirement to participate in red-ball cricket. He cautioned that failing to do so would result in consequences for the players.