Shreyas Iyer Gets Included In BCCI Central Contracts

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] April 2: Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer, who was unceremoniously left out of the BCCI central contracts last year for not complying with the board’s domestic cricket directive, is all set to be back in the revised annual contracts this year. Iyer, despite being one of India’s top performers in the home ODI World Cup in 2023 and Ishan Kishan, a member of India’s squad in all formats, were left not included in the contracts last year after both of them failed to turn up for their domestic sides Mumbai and Jharkhand, respectively. 

“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” the BCCI said in an official statement.

While Iyer got his spot in the ODI squad back and even went on to become India’s highest runscorer in their victorious ICC Champions Trophy campaign with 243 runs from five matches in Dubai last month, Kishan has not played a single match for India in 2024.

In his last Ranji Trophy campaign, Shreyas garnered 480 runs from five matches for Mumbai, averaging 68.57 while striking at a healthy rate of 90.22.

With 345 runs in his kitty from nine matches, Shreyas was the fourth-highest run-getter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He exhibited his rich vein of form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, boasting 325 runs in five games at a staggering average of 325.00.

According to news agency ANI, Iyer is set to be included in the central contracts. “Shreyas Iyer is all set to be back in central contract,” BCCI sources said.

The source added that stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to be retained in A+ category despite announcing their retirements from T20Is. Generally, the A+ category contract is reserved for players who represent India in all formats. Last year, the contract was awarded to only Kohli, Rohit, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah.

“Rohit and Virat will continue their A grade central contract (7 crore) even after retiring from T20I format. They are big players and will be accorded the respect they deserve.

Rohit, a modern-day icon in the white-ball cricket, has lost his charm and purple patch across all formats. After bringing the curtain down on his T20I career on a memorable note, the seasoned opener’s bat has resorted to silence.

During India’s historic 3-0 home series whitewash against New Zealand, the fiery opener, who has lost his flamboyance, contributed just 91 runs across three Test matches, averaging 15.17.

Even before the series loss against the Kiwis, when India faced Bangladesh, the dynamic opener amassed a mere 42 runs in two Test matches while averaging just 10.50.

After a forgettable run at home, Rohit’s performance sparked criticism after his shambolic display in Tests in Australia. In five innings during the series, Rohit had only 31 runs to show at an abysmal average of 6.20.

Meanwhile, Virat, who could just make 190 runs in 10 innings during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was among players who came under scrutiny after the 1-3 series loss to Australia. Virat ended the last year with just 655 international runs in 23 matches and 32 innings, averaging 21.83, with a century and two fifties to his name. His best score was 100*.