NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its annual central contracts for the 2023-2024 season, and batsmen Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were not included in the list of 30 players. This decision came after they failed to comply with the BCCI's directive to play in the Ranji Trophy.
Kishan, who plays for Jharkhand, refused to participate in the tournament, while Iyer, from Mumbai, was unavailable for the quarterfinals after his exit from the Indian Test squad.
Interestingly, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who only plays white-ball cricket for India, managed to secure a Grade A contract from the BCCI.
This raised questions about the different treatment given to Pandya compared to Kishan and Iyer. Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan highlighted this discrepancy in a tweet.
However, according to a report by the Indian Express, Pandya's situation is unique. He has made a commitment to play for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and Vijay Hazare Trophy when he is not representing the national side.
1/10:Annual central contracts: BCCI drops Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan
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2/10:BCCI
<p>BCCI, on Wednesday, sent a strong message that not playing in the Ranji Trophy unless you are on national duty or are unfit will not be tolerated. </p>
3/10:The exclusions
<p>BCCI excluded India's middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan from the list of 30 centrally contracted players. </p>Getty Images
4/10:Shreyas Iyer
<p>Shreyas Iyer missed the last league match and the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, citing back pain, but has been included for the semifinal against Tamil Nadu from March 2 in Mumbai. </p>PTI
5/10:Ishan Kishan
<p>Ishan Kishan came back midway from India's tour of South Africa due to 'personal reasons' in December last year, missed the Test series against England and didn't play in the Ranji for Jharkhand. </p>TNN
6/10:KL Rahul
<p>Middle-order batsmen KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and pacer Mohammed Siraj have all been elevated to the Grade A category. </p>Getty Images
7/10:Rishabh Pant
<p>Rishabh Pant, who has been out of action since January 2023 while recovering from a horrific road accident, finds himself in Grade B. </p>Getty Images
8/10:Grade A
<p>Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami have been retained in Grade A along with Hardik Pandya. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Top grade
<p>Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been retained in the A+ category. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Axar Patel
<p>Axar Patel, who had a Grade A contract last season, has been moved to Grade B after losing his place in the India Test side to Kuldeep Yadav. </p>PTI"We have had discussions with Pandya, who has been told to play domestic white-ball tournaments when he is available. At this stage, according to the assessment of the BCCI’s medical team, he is not in a position to bowl in red-ball tournaments. So playing Ranji Trophy is out of the equation for Pandya. But he has to play other white-ball tournaments if there are no India commitments. If not, he will miss out on a contract," a BCCI official was quoted as saying.
Pandya, who recently recovered from an ankle injury, made his return to competitive cricket at the DY Patil tournament. Representing the Reliance One side, he took two wickets and conceded 22 runs in three overs.
Additionally, he has been training individually in Vadodara and ensuring that his fitness is monitored at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
