Former BCCI president and India captain Sourav Ganguly is surprised with top-tier players, mainly Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, for skipping Ranji Trophy matches. Ganguly came down hard on the batting duo for overlooking the premier domestic tournament for respective reasons despite receiving clear and strict directives from the Indian Board to appear in the matches. As a result, the BCCI released them from the central contract list for the upcoming season.

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Ganguly said everyone is supposed to play in the Ranji Trophy, including the centrally contracted players not picked for any Indian squad. 

Following the South Africa ODIs and T20Is late last year, Ishan Kishan informed the BCCI of remaining unavailable for selection for an indefinite period, citing mental fatigue. He skipped the Ranji Trophy matches for his state (Jharkhand), and despite repeated warnings from the board, Ishan didn’t appear to play for his team.

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Instead, Kishan was training with Hardik Pandya – the newly appointed captain of Mumbai Indians (the team Ishan opens the batting for in the IPL) in Baroda. 

“You are supposed to play first-class cricket. Once you are a contracted player, you are expected to play the Premier tournament,” Ganguly said.

“Shreyas Iyer is playing the semi-final for Mumbai in a couple of days’ time. Yes, they are young people, and Ishan has surprised me. He was part of the Indian team in all formats. Such a big contract in IPL. I don’t know why he has done that. You must play especially when you are as gifted as Ishan Kishan. 

“When you are playing for India in all formats, you must play. I was surprised by his decision not to,” said Ganguly. 

BCCI is right in taking this call

Ishan’s teammate and top middle-order batter, Shreyas, suffered the same fate. 

Upon regaining full fitness ahead of the Asia Cup last year, Iyer played a handy role in helping India reach the 2023 World Cup finals but again suffered back issues during the ongoing India-England series. 

Considering the reoccurrence of his back-related problems and the lean patch in red-ball cricket, the selectors dropped him from the squad for the last three Tests. 

However, upon getting fitness clearance from the NCA, Iyer got included in Mumbai’s squad for the Ranji semis.

“I think the BCCI wants them to play first-class cricket. I am surprised why Shreyas Iyer has not played Ranji Trophy. It is a premier tournament, and you are supposed to play. 

“So, it is a decision by BCCI and what they have thought right they have done. Every contracted cricketer must play first-class cricket because that is the basic premise of cricket in this country,” Ganguly told Revsportz.

However, all concerned players here, including Pandya, returned to competitive cricket, playing in the DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi Mumbai.

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