India batter Shreyas Iyer was not offered a central contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Iyer was dropped from the last three Test matches against England due to poor form. He refused to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy despite instructions from the top BCCI brass and paid a heavy price in the end.
Ishan Kishan was also punished by the apex body. “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” the BCCI said in a statement.
However, Chandrakant Pandit, the head of Kolkata Knight Riders, said that Iyer will not be impacted by the contract snub. Speaking to Mid Day, he said that Iyer deserves a contract.
“I will not say Shreyas must be given a place in a certain category of central contracts. He is a player who can play in any format of the game. He scored a century on his Test debut against New Zealand. I know there will be some players who will not perform for the team and Iyer will be recalled. He will play domestic cricket and can score runs for KKR in IPL. He is going to be beneficial for the Indian cricket,” Pandit said in an interview with Mid Day.
“It’s surprising that Shreyas was not there on annual contracts list because he plays all formats. He deserves a place among the centrally contracted cricketers. He will not be impacted as he is a fighter.”
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