Former India captain Kapil Dev delivered a blunt verdict on the BCCI’s decision to scrap Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s central contracts.
Former India captain Kapil Dev has welcomed the BCCI’s decision to take a step towards prioritising domestic cricket over IPL even if it comes at the cost of a few players ‘suffering’. While Kapil did not name players, it is obvious that the remark was intended at Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who got their contracts terminated for not adhering to the board norms of playing the Ranji Trophy. But while it surely is a setback for two of India’s most exciting batters, Kapil couldn’t be happier seeing BCCI take a stand.
Kapil Dev has spoken on the Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer fiasco. (Getty/PTI)
“Yes, few players will suffer, kuch logon ko taqleef hogi, hone do… lekin desh se badh kar koi nahi hai (some people will feel hurt but let it be because nobody is bigger than the country). Well done,” he said. I congratulate the BCCI for taking the much-needed step to protect the status of domestic cricket. I was sad to see domestic cricket being given the skip by players once they had established themselves in international cricket,” Kapil told PTI.
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Kishan and Iyer paid the price for repeatedly ignoring the BCCI’s guidelines of prioritising domestic cricket over the IPL. In a letter addressed to all centrally-contracted players, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had made it clear that paying attention to the IPL alone is not enough and that participating in the Ranji Trophy should be at the top of the players’ agenda. Unfortunately for Kishan and Iyer though, both had their reasons behind not representing either Jharkhand or Mumbai, but the BCCI didn’t care.
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While Iyer, who was on a break from the Indian team citing mental fatigue, was training at the DY Patil Stadium with his Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya ahead of his comeback series, Iyer got sandwiched between what he claimed was a back spasm and an NCA physio’s contradicting take on it. Then again, the NCA in the past had declared KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah when they weren’t, so who is to say. Bottom line is that for now, Kishan and Shreyas are out of contention from the national team, and even though they will play the IPL 2024 starting in 21 days from now, the road back to wearing the blue is believed to be a long one.
Returning to domestic a good way to pay the state associations back
Kapil however added his two cents on BCCI’s newly-formed mandate, insisting that all those representing the Indian team should come back and play domestic as and when the cricketing calendar allows… if not for much then at least for the pure motive of giving back to the state association who helped them become the stars that they are today.
“It was high time the message was given and this strong step by the BCCI will go a long way in restoring the prestige of domestic cricket. I have always believed in the process of international players making themselves available to play for their respective states. It helps them extend their support to domestic players. Also, it is a nice way to pay back for the services rendered by the state association in grooming a player,” Kapil, India’s first World Cup winning captain, pointed out.
