New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said it was due to harsh steps taken by him that the likes of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are prioritising domestic cricket when not on national duty. Both players were excluded from BCCI’s central contract list earlier this year after failing to turn up for their respective teams in the domestic circuit despite not playing for India.
It was after the duo’s exclusion from the central contracts that BCCI made it mandatory for all centrally contracted players who are fit and not on national duty to play domestic cricket. Iyer and Kishan along with several India regulars and other prospects are set to take part in the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 which will get underway on September 05.
Iyer will be leading Team D in the Duleep Trophy with Kishan part of his squad. The likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel among others will also be seen in action in the domestic red-ball tournament to prepare for India’s upcoming Test series against Bangladesh next month.
“If you look Duleep Trophy squad, apart from Rohit and Virat rest are going to play. It’s because of the harsh steps I have taken, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are playing Duleep Trophy,” Jay Shah told Times of India.
Senior players like Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested from the Duleep Trophy keeping their workload in mind while all-rounder Hardik Pandya is not part of the tournament as he is not in the scheme of things for India in red-ball cricket. Shah reinstated BCCI’s stance that all centrally contracted players will have to prioritise domestic cricket when not on national duty.
“We have been little strict. When Ravindra Jadeja had got injured, I was the one who called him and asked him to play a domestic game. It’s certain now, whoever gets injured and goes out, can only come into the Indian team after proving his fitness in domestic cricket,” the BCCI secretary added.
Indian players to prepare for Bangladesh Test series in Duleep Trophy
India’s Test regulars who will be in action in the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 will utilise the tournament to prepare for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. The likes of Jaiswal, Gill, Shreyas, KL Rahul and Jadeja among others will be hoping to impress in the first round of matches to cement their place in the Indian team ahead of the Test series against the visitors.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah said it was because of the harsh steps he took that the likes of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are currently playing domestic tournament like Duleep Trophy when not on national duty. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
