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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday, February 28, announced the BCCI central contracts for India players for the 2023-24 season.
The headlines, though, were made by Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were axed from the contracts following recent talk about the BCCI mandating participation in domestic cricket.
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The Indian Premier League (IPL) should not take precedence over domestic cricket, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had earlier strongly warned centrally-contracted Indian players.
Many ex-cricketers have given their opinion on the Iyer-Kishan duo losing out on their BCCI contracts. So did 1983 World Cup winner Kirti Azad.
MORE: Irfan Pathan wants BCCI to take a reality check regarding central contracts
Kirti Azad wants senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to play domestic cricket
In an interview with PTI, Kirti Azad fully backed BCCI’s new directive, while also stating that India’s most regular and senior figures like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should also appear for their respective states in domestic circuit.
Indeed, the last time Kohli appeared for his domestic side, Delhi, was three years ago, in 2021. Meanwhile, Rohit hasn’t featured for Mumbai since 2015.
It (directive) is a very good move. Everybody should be playing Ranji Trophy cricket, but currently the emphasis is on the IPL. It is good, it is entertaining but the real cricket is the (five) days’ cricket. Playing in domestic cricket is good, it keeps you in touch. But whenever you are free, even if you’re a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, you should go back and play domestic cricket for the state.
That (state) gave you the opportunity to be a player, get selected and then play for the country. Just to penalise the two is not correct, I think everybody should be penalised. Everybody should be seen with the same mirror.
Back in the days when we were starting our careers, players like Bishan Singh Bedi, Madan Lal, Surinder Amarnath, Mohinder Amarnath, Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Karsan Ghavri played alongside youngsters like me and Ravi Shastri. All these senior Test team players would play for their sides, would play for the pride of their state which seems missing in the youngsters nowadays.
What next for India?
Having gained a 3-1 lead in the ongoing Test series against England, India will take on the visitors in the fifth and final Test at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala from March 7.
