The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has mandated that all centrally contracted players who are fit and not on national duty must participate in domestic cricket. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have already faced consequences from the Board for failing to play domestic cricket when they were available. Earlier this year, both players were excluded from the BCCI’s central contracts list because they missed domestic matches despite being fit and not engaged in international duties.
Iyer and Kishan are now included in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which begins on September 5, a decision influenced by BCCI’s firm stance. BCCI secretary Jay Shah revealed that the two players’ participation is a result of the Board’s strict measures.
“If you look at the Duleep Trophy squad, apart from Rohit and Virat, the rest are playing. It’s because of the tough steps I’ve taken that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are participating in the Duleep Trophy,” Jay Shah told Times of India.
“We have been a bit strict. When Ravindra Jadeja got injured, I personally called him and asked him to play a domestic game. It’s now certain that anyone who gets injured and misses out can only rejoin the Indian team after proving their fitness in domestic cricket,” he added.
Notably, players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah have been given a rest as part of workload management. India’s next game is scheduled for a month later, where they will face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series starting September 19.
“It doesn’t make sense to add to Virat and Rohit’s load by asking them to play domestic cricket. They run the risk of getting injured. We must also consider England and Australia, where none of their top players play domestic cricket. We need to treat our players with respect and not like servants,” the BCCI secretary emphasized.