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[Saba Sports News] After the exclusion of ace India middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan from the BCCI’s central annual contracts, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit has expressed his support for the captain of the franchise, suggesting that the snub will not deter his spirits.
The bold move to exclude Iyer and Ishan stems from their failure to comply with BCCI secretary Jay Shah’s directives, which mandated contracted players not playing at the senior level for India to participate in domestic cricket.
Despite the warnings, KKR captain Iyer, who represents Mumbai in domestic cricket, skipped a significant portion of the Ranji Trophy due to an alleged back spasm, despite being declared fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Consequently, he was not awarded a contract for the 2023-24 season.
Chandrakant, the head coach of KKR, voiced his opinion on Iyer’s exclusion, affirming that he possesses the talent to excel in any format for India. He emphasised Iyer’s track record of performance, including his memorable century against New Zealand on his Test debut in 2021, asserting that his absence could be felt in future series, particularly when other players might struggle for form.
“I will not say Shreyas must be included in a certain Grade, but he is definitely a player who can serve India in any format. He has had an injury issue, but it was solved. He is a good performer and even scored a century [105 against New Zealand in 2021 at Kanpur] on Test debut,” Chandrakant said as quoted to Mid-Day.
“In our future series, there may be some players who will not be in form, so naturally Shreyas will be there. He will play domestic cricket and can perform in the IPL. He is going to be useful for Indian cricket in any format,” he added.
Furthermore, he expressed confidence in Iyer’s resilience, suggesting that the controversy surrounding his exclusion would not deter him. He praised Iyer’s fighting spirit and predicted that he would continue to strive for excellence and reclaim his spot in the national team.
“It’s surprising that Shreyas was not considered for the annual contracts, because he is India’s all-format player. We don’t know the reason, but I think he should walk into the pool of India’s contracted players. He could have definitely fitted in any Grade. Knowing Shreyas, I don’t think it will affect him. He will definitely fight and perform. He has that fighting spirit,” Chandrakant mentioned.
Iyer notably emerged as the fifth highest run-scorer in ODIs for India in 2023, amassing 846 runs in 19 innings at an impressive average of 52.88. However, his recent dip in form in Test cricket led Indian selectors to drop him during the ongoing India versus England five-match Test series.