India cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are at risk of losing their BCCI central contracts because they chose to skip participating in Ranji Trophy matches. Iyer, who was placed in Grade B of the central contract in March 2023 with an annual salary of INR 3 Crore, and Kishan, who was in Grade C with an annual salary of INR 1 Crore, may face exclusion from the new central contracts, as per reports. Kishan took a break for personal reasons during the South Africa tour due to mental fatigue, while Iyer was dropped from the Test team for the last three Tests of an ongoing series, though the reason was not specified by the BCCI.
Kishan has been training with his Mumbai Indians’ captain, Hardik Pandya, in Baroda and did not play for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy 2024. Similarly, Iyer was absent from Mumbai’s recent league fixture and missed the quarter-final match due to reported back spasms, although the Head of Sports Science and Medicine at the National Cricket Academy stated that Iyer was fit to play, contradicting his claims of unavailability.
An anonymous source said: “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.”
It’s been suggested that Iyer’s omission from the Test team was precautionary, and his back issue has persisted since then. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah emphasized the importance of centrally contracted and India A cricketers participating in domestic cricket, stating that non-compliance with this directive, particularly regarding the ongoing Ranji Trophy, would lead to severe consequences. The BCCI’s stance underscores the significance of domestic cricket participation for contracted players, highlighting their responsibility to contribute to the domestic circuit when not representing the national team.
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