After Team India’s emphatic 4-1 Test series victory at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala against England, head coachRahul Dravid was asked about the BCCI central contracts snub of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. Both batters have not been taken into consideration for the annual retainership by the Board of Control For Cricket in India due to the duo not playing any form of cricket in recent times.
Rahul Dravid ” I don’t know who is Contracted who is not, Me and Rohit Sharma select the Playing 11. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are currently in the mix and I hope they play good Cricket, stay fit and force selectors to Pick them. No one is out of contention” pic.twitter.com/uSq5qv28cI
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“I don’t decide contracts or discuss that. I don’t even know what the criteria is. Both are in the mix and hope they play cricket, stay fit and force the selectors to pick them. No one is out of contention, players without contracts have also played,” Dravid said
“Rohit and I select playing 11. Sometimes even I don’t know who is contracted and who is not. No one is out of the mix,” he added.
Dravid emphasized that every player remains in contention and encouraged the two dropped players to put in the hard work necessary to regain the confidence of the selectors.
Contract Snub
The decision to exclude Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the BCCI’s senior men’s team central contract list drew attention due to its unexpected nature. Both players were believed to have disregarded instructions from the BCCI leadership, including secretary Jay Shah, regarding participation in domestic cricket.
Ishan Kishan has not been involved in competitive cricket at the highest level since withdrawing from a Test series in South Africa in December-January. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer was omitted from the squad for the final three Tests of the recently-concluded 5-Test series against England. Reports revealed that Iyer opted out of leading the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in the quarter-final, citing back injury concerns. However, after being declared fit by the medical team at the National Cricket Academy, he was not considered for selection in the Test cricket team.
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