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Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan Lose Their BCCI Annual Contract After Rohit Sharma’s ‘Hunger’ Remark
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have been dropped from the list of players who received their annual contract from BCCI for the 2023-24 season. Read details!
Both Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s name were absent from the list of cricketers who were named in the BCCI’s list of annual contractors. The board shared the list of players and their annual contracts for the 2023-24 season on Wednesday and both the cricketers didn’t feature in the list.
While releasing the list, BCCI wrote, “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.” It also added, “The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.”
ALSO READ: ‘It will be good for Indian cricket’; Sunil Gavaskar backs Rohit Sharma’s ‘Hunger’ statement 
Annual Player Contracts List 2023-24
Here’s the list of the Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) 2023-24:
Grade A+ (4 Athletes)
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade A (6 Athletes)
R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Grade B (5 Athletes)
Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C (15 Athletes)
Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar.
BCCI’s warning to prioritize domestic cricket
With this step, the board has clearly put forward its intention of not letting the players prioritize IPL over domestic cricket. A warning was earlier released by BCCI secretary Jay Shah to a few top players stating that the players must participate in domestic cricket when they are not representing the national team, failing to follow which can lead to ‘serious implications’.
In the letter, Jay shah wrote, “Our vision for Indian cricket has been clear from the outset – every cricketer aspiring to play for India must prove themselves in domestic cricket. Performance in domestic cricket remains a critical yardstick for selection and non-participation in domestic cricket will carry severe implications.”
Adding further, he stated, “There is a recent trend that has started to emerge and is a cause for concern. Some players have begun prioritizing the IPL over domestic cricket, a shift that was not anticipated. Domestic cricket has always been the foundation upon which Indian cricket stands, and it has never been undervalued in our vision for the sport.”
However, despite these warnings, Ishan Kishan didn’t take part in the Ranji Trophy for the Bihar side while Shreyas Iyer opted out of the quarter-final between Mumbai and Baroda citing back pain.
Nitin Patel, head of Sports Science and Medicine at NCA wrote to the selectors at Mumbai Cricket Association stating that Iyer was fit to play and no fresh injuries were incurred by him. However, Iyer later made himself available for the Ranji semi-final and was named in the 16-member squad to take on Tamil Nadu, scheduled to start on March 2, 2024.
Rohit Sharma’s hunger remark
Recently, in a post-match press conference after the fourth Test between India and England, skipper Rohit Sharma also gave a statement on the IPL vs Ranji Trophy debate, reinforcing BCCI’s vision of providing opportunities to players who prioritize domestic cricket.
Sharma said that the opportunities will only be given to players who show hunger for it and not the ones who are not keen on representing the country. “This Test cricket is the toughest format. And if you want success and want to excel in this tough format then you need that hunger. It is very important,” said Sharma.
He further added, “We will give opportunity only to players who have that hunger. Jinko bhookh nahi hai, unko dekh ke hi pata chal jata hai.”
“Players who have that hunger, players who want to stay here and perform, [and] play in tough conditions, we will give preference to them. Obviously, it is pretty simple: if you don't have hunger, there's no meaning playing such players,” he concluded.
ALSO READ: ’Jinko Bhookh Nahi Hai…,” Did Rohit Sharma Indirectly Take a Shot at Ishan Kishan?
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