Rahul Dravid provides update on discarded Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan's future

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan recently got ousted from BCCI central contracts.

India registered a dominating 4-1 test series win against England on home soil. England came to India, hoping to stun the hosts with their ‘Bazball’ approach. They did push India to the back in the first test of the series in Hyderabad. However, India came back strongly in the next four tests. India won the final test match in Dharamsala by an inning and 64 runs.

In the first innings, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill each scored a century, and youngster Sarfaraz Khan and debutant Devdutt Padikkal each added a half-century. England batters could not get going against the spin twins of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin in both innings and failed miserably.

In the middle of the series, the BCCI revealed the list of their central contracts and the players who were involved in the list. Young wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan and star batter Shreyas Iyer found themselves dropped from the list. BCCI secretary Jay Shah had earlier clearly stated that Indian players need to be part of the domestic set-up, like the Ranji Trophy, and are only exempt from it if they are injured. In that case, they need to report it to the NCA.

Despite repeated warnings, Ishan Kishan chose to avoid the Ranji Trophy. Kishan pulled out of the test series against South Africa, citing mental fatigue. During the test series against England, he was told to play in a Ranji Trophy game to prove match fitness. However, he chose to avoid it and instead prepare for IPL 2024 by playing in the DY Patil T20 Cup.

In the same way, after Shreyas Iyer was left out right from the third test against England, he was told to be part of the Ranji Trophy games. However, he chose to ignore the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, citing back spasms. Hence, the BCCI dropped both of them from the contract list and served it as an example for all.

Rahul Dravid provides update on discarded Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan’s future

After the final test in Dharamsala, India head Coach Rahul Dravid spoke about the situation surrounding Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. He stated that all the players playing domestic cricket are in the mix, but he has no hand in creating the contracts, and that’s completely up to the BCCI to decide.

Rahul Dravid stated: “They’re always in the mix,” Dravid said after India’s 4-1 series win over England in Dharmsala on Saturday. “Everyone who’s playing domestic cricket is in the mix. Firstly, I don’t decide on contracts, right? Contracts are decided by the selectors and the board. I don’t even know what the criteria are. I’m involved in – people ask me my opinion on the 15, and me and Rohit select the XI. That’s how it works. We’ve never discussed whether somebody has a contract or not, whether he’s going to be selected in the 15.

“There are enough examples of people playing different formats of the game, whether they have contracts or not. I don’t even know sometimes what the list of the contracted players is, when we take these decisions, discussions on the 15 or the playing 11 for that matter. No one’s out of the picture, no one’s out of the mix, it’s just a question of hopefully them getting back and fit, playing cricket, and forcing the selectors to pick them again.” Dravid signed off.

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