Why Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were omitted from BCCI contracts list?

Sourav Ganguli said that the BCCI wants the players to play first-class cricket, and all the players are supposed to play in the Ranji Trophy as it is a premier tournament.

Digital Desk: The BCCI on Wednesday unveiled its list of centrally-contracted players for the year. India captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja maintained their ranks in the top tier, while Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not included in any category.

Indian Express reports, “The decision comes after the two players refused to turn up for their domestic sides despite BCCI secretary Jay Shah sending a strongly-worded letter to all the contracted players to feature in domestic cricket.” 

It further says, “Hardik Pandya, another player who hasn’t played any cricket since the World Cup and was recovering from an ankle injury, though, keeps his place in Grade A.”

Sourav Ganguli said that the BCCI wants the players to play first-class cricket, and all the players are supposed to play in the Ranji Trophy as it is a premier tournament.

According to a report from Hindustan Times, Ishan was told to compete in the domestic circuit by head coach Dravid and then BCCI to be eligible for the national team. His exclusion from the annual contract lists is the result of his failure to comply.

However, the decision to exclude Ishan and Shreyas has been questioned by former cricketer Irfan Pathan. He said on ‘X’, “They are talented cricketers, both Shreyas and Ishan. Hoping they bounce back and come back stronger. If players like Hardik don’t want to play red-ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty? If this doesn’t apply to all, then Indian cricket won’t achieve the desired results!.”

To this supporters turned in and started calling the BCCI’s decision politically motivated. One ‘X’ user writes, “Exactly, bcci gives too much to Hardik Pandya, why playing ranji does not apply to that injury prone Hardik Pandya?”

Inspired by Irfan’s bold statement, one user writes, “Respect for Irfan Pathan🙏 Well said sir...Rules should be same for everyone.”

Sourav Ganguly told Revsportz, "I think the BCCI wants them to play first-class cricket. I am surprised why Shreyas lyer has not played Ranji Trophy. It is a premier tournament, and you are supposed to play. So, it is a decision by BCCI, and what they have thought right, they have done. Every contracted cricketer must play first-class cricket because that is the basic premise of cricket in this country."