MUMBAI: Not playing in the ongoing Ranji Trophy may cost Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer heavily. Both Kishan and Iyer are likely to lose their central contracts when the BCCI announces the list, which is likely to be soon, TOI has learnt.
“The selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, has 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,” a source told TOI.
Kishan has been on an extended break “due to personal reasons” since coming back from the India tour of South Africa in December-January. He has been practicing with his Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya at Baroda, but has not turned out for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy. Iyer was absent from Mumbai’s final Ranji Trophy league match against Assam at BKC and will also miss the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda starting Friday.
The middle-order batsman had informed the Mumbai Cricket Association that he was not available for selection due to back spasms, but Nitin Patel, the head of sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy, in an email to the BCCI and the national selectors, wrote that Iyer was ‘fit’.
However, a source close to Iyer mentioned that the batsman was “excluded from India’s squad for the last three Tests as a precautionary measure, after he complained of a back problem.”
“Patel’s email to the BCCI was written after the second Test against England. Since then, a back problem has bothered Iyer,” the source said. “Iyer was one of India’s top performing batsmen in the ODI World Cup in India last year. He won’t lose the contract just because he missed the odd Ranji match,” he insisted.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had warned centrally contracted and India A cricketers last week that non-participation in the ongoing Ranji Trophy will not be tolerated and chief selector Ajit Agarkar would be given a “free hand in this regard”.
“The selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, has 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,” a source told TOI.
Kishan has been on an extended break “due to personal reasons” since coming back from the India tour of South Africa in December-January. He has been practicing with his Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya at Baroda, but has not turned out for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy. Iyer was absent from Mumbai’s final Ranji Trophy league match against Assam at BKC and will also miss the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda starting Friday.
The middle-order batsman had informed the Mumbai Cricket Association that he was not available for selection due to back spasms, but Nitin Patel, the head of sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy, in an email to the BCCI and the national selectors, wrote that Iyer was ‘fit’.
However, a source close to Iyer mentioned that the batsman was “excluded from India’s squad for the last three Tests as a precautionary measure, after he complained of a back problem.”
“Patel’s email to the BCCI was written after the second Test against England. Since then, a back problem has bothered Iyer,” the source said. “Iyer was one of India’s top performing batsmen in the ODI World Cup in India last year. He won’t lose the contract just because he missed the odd Ranji match,” he insisted.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had warned centrally contracted and India A cricketers last week that non-participation in the ongoing Ranji Trophy will not be tolerated and chief selector Ajit Agarkar would be given a “free hand in this regard”.