Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been hit with all sorts of setbacks now that they’ve been dropped from the BCCI central contracts list.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s big cricketing setback of losing BCCI central contracts comes with its set of drawbacks. The Indian batters, who have been out of action, will not only miss out on financial benefits but also lose access to a lot of other perks now that they are no longer centrally contracted. What it also does is that it hampers Kishan and Iyer’s chances of knocking on the doors of the selectors.
It could be a long time before we see Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer back playing for India (Getty Images)
While the two are set to feature in the IPL 2024 for their respective franchises – Kishan for Mumbai Indians and Iyer for Kolkata Knight Riders – the fact that they are, for now, not in the BCCI’s scheme of things promises to inflict more harm to their careers than good. It may not be the end of the road for Kishan and Iyer, but it surely is a push to go back to the drawing board. Keeping all this in mind, we bring you five ways in which getting the axe from BCCI can hamper Kishan and Iyer.
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Financial hit
There are perks to being a player of the richest cricket board in the world, but unfortunately enough, neither Kishan or Iyer will be able to make any use of it now that they are no longer part of the BCCI’s central contracts. As per the brackets, a player listed in Grade A+, earns INR 7 crore per year, followed by INR 5 crore in A, INR 3 crore in B and 1 crore in C. Kishan was earlier in Grade C, while Iyer belonged to B, which assured them at least a particular amount of money irrespective of whether they played or warmed the benches. That will no longer be the case going forward, at least not until they get their contracts back.
Also Read: Entire series of events which led to Kishan, Iyer’s BCCI sacking
Access to BCCI facilities impacted
Being centrally-contracted by the BCCI allows players to hit the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru any time as per their needs. Be it battling bad form, undergoing rehabilitation or in the case of recovering from an injury, the players could simply head to the NCA and do what they had to do. But now that Kishan and Iyer have been released, they no longer can avail the NCA facilities on their own. They would need clearance from their state associations – Kishan from Jharkhand Cricket Association and Iyer from MCA – to get access to the NCA.
Also Read: Devdutt Padikkal to make debut in 5th India vs England Test
Out of the limelight
While Iyer and Kishan will certainly be playing the IPL, it will do nothing for them post it to remain in the spotlight. In all fairness, as per guidelines rolled out by BCCI president Jay Shah, players need to give Ranji Trophy importance, without which returning to the contention for national team recall is not possible. And to do that, Kishan and Iyer will have to undergo the grind of playing First-Class cricket. This again is not as easy as it sounds, because the Ranji Trophy season is nearing its end, and with there hardly being takers for tournaments such as Irani Cup, Deodhar Trophy – played away from the limelight and public eyes – Kishan and Iyer could be in for a long wait.
Back to the drawing board
Kishan and Iyer will be forced to start from scratch. With no shortage of promising young talents in the Indian team, it is safe to assume that they will drop down the pecking order eventually if not right away. Until his release from the Test squad in South Africa, Kishan was the back-up keeper to KS Bharat, the same position which was rewarded to Dhruv Jurel when he was named in the squad for the England series. And who knows? Had Kishan not withdrawn, he could have retained his place and Jurel may or may not have gotten his chance. Similarly, Iyer, who was deemed as India’s No. 5 was replaced with Sarfaraz Khan once he was dropped. With a packed calendar ahead, and several youngsters knocking on the door, Iyer and Kishan may be in for the long haul.
No T20 World Cup berth
With the BCCI making it mandatory to give importance to Ranji and Test cricket, Kishan and Iyer can kiss their World Cup hopes goodbye, for no amount of brilliance in the IPL is going to be enough to secure them a place in India’s World Cup squad. Such a shame, given Iyer, with 530 runs, was India’s third-highest scorer of the 2023 World Cup a few months ago. More so for Kishan, who holds the record for the fastest ODI double century in world cricket.
