The exclusion of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the list of centrally contracted players was a decision taken solely by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has revealed, asserting that “no one is indispensable”. Kishan and Iyer were left out after failing to show up for domestic engagements despite a directive from the BCCI. While Kishan took a long break after the end of the ODI World Cup last year and remained unavailable until the IPL, Iyer did eventually play a few matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, including the semi-final and final.
However, Iyer still found himself at the receiving end after it emerged that he had attended a Kolkata Knight Riders camp in Mumbai when his home side was busy playing a Ranji Trophy match.
“You can check the bylaws. I am just an organizer (of the selection meeting),” he said during a media interaction at the BCCI headquarters on Thursday.
“That decision lies with Ajit Agarkar, even if these two players (Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer) did not play domestically (cricket), the decision to drop them (from the central contract list) was his alone.
“My role is just to execute. And we have new players like Sanju (Samson). No one is indispensable,” he added.
Shah reiterated the board's stance that Indian players should prioritize domestic cricket.
In the days leading up to the contract rejection, Shah had stated before the Third Test between India and England in February this year that he would fully support the chief selector's decision for any action against players who do not adhere to the instructions of the Indian captain and team management. requirement for participation in domestic cricket.
Shah said he had spoken to the players after their exclusion.
“Yes, I had spoken to them. The media had even spread the messages,” he said.
“Even Hardik (Pandya) said that if BCCI considers me in white ball, I am ready to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Every player will have to play even if they don't want to, they will until,” Shah continued.
Talking about big scores in this year's IPL, Shah ultimately said, it comes down to who plays well and who as a player can sustain the performance.
“Whoever plays well in the IPL… like say Ishan Kishan, he finds it difficult to be part of the Indian team, but he can play for Mumbai Indians as a player. There he can play in a relaxed way.”
“In Team India, you have to prove yourself and deliver. Whoever can do that can be described as a good player,” he added.
Shah also revealed details of his conversation with Kishan, which took place after Mumbai Indians' match against Gujarat Titans.
“No, I didn't advise him anything. It was just a friendly conversation that he should do well and that's how I talk to all the players,” he said.
While there have been some media reports mentioning an increase in match fees for domestic players in the country, Shah said there is no such plan.
“We have increased wages anyway and also encouraged Test cricket. We had increased wages by 100 percent by 2022,” Shah added.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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