Mumbai: The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah revealed that the decision of removing wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and batter Shreyas Iyer from the recently announced latest central contracted players list was was solely taken by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.
As a result, Kishan and Iyer were left out after failing to show up for domestic teams despite a directive from the BCCI. Both reportedly made excuses to miss the five-match Test series against England stating mental fatigue and back spasm respectively. While Kishan went on a long break after the end of the ICC ODI World Cup last year and remained unavailable until the ongoing Indian Premier League, Iyer eventually did feature in a few matches for domestic giants Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy including the semifinal and the final.
However, Iyer still found himself at the receiving end as the reports of him being attending Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) camp in Mumbai when his domestic side was busy playing a Ranji Trophy fixture surfaced.
"You can check the constitution. I am just a convener (of the selection meeting)," Shah said during a select media interaction at the BCCI head office here on Thursday.
"That decision lies with Ajit Agarkar, even when these two players (Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer) who did not play domestic (cricket), the decision to drop them (from the central contracts list) was only his. My role is just to implement. And we have got new players (in place), like Sanju (Samson). Nobody is indispensable," he added.
Shah reiterated the Board's position that Indian players will have to prioritise domestic cricket. He had stated before the India-England third Test a couple of months back that he backs the chief selector's decision for strong action on players who do not comply with the Indian captain and team management's requirement for participation in domestic cricket.
During the fifth Test, BCCI had even released a new payment structure for the domestic and Indian players where majorly focus was on the domestic games.
While there have been a few media reports mentioning an increase in the match fees for domestic players in the country, Shah said there is no such plan. "We have increased the pay anyway and also incentivised Test cricket. We had increased the pay by 100 per cent in 2022," Shah added.
The BCCI secretary said he spoke with the players after their exclusion. "Yes, I had spoken with them. Media had even carried the reports," he said.
"Even Hardik (Pandya) said if the BCCI is considering me for white-ball, then I am ready to play Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Any player will have to play, even if they do not want to, they will have to," Shah continued.
Shah also mentioned that whoever will be able to prove himself at the grandest stage as a player and sustain performances will get a chance to play for India.
"Whoever plays well in the IPL... like say Ishan Kishan, he finds it difficult to take part with the Indian team but he can play for Mumbai Indians as a player. There he can play in a relaxed manner. In Team India, you have to prove yourself, give back to back performances. The one who can handle that can be described as a right player," he added.
Shah also disclosed information of his conversation with Kishan, which took place after Mumbai Indians' match against Gujarat Titans. "No, I did not advise him on anything. It was just a friendly talk that he should do well and I speak with all players like that," he concluded. (With PTI inputs)
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