(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] India middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, who got dropped after the second Test against England due to poor form, raised eyebrows by opting out of domestic cricket, citing an alleged back injury. Despite BCCI’s directive to prioritize domestic commitments, Iyer skipped Ranji matches against Chattisgarh and Assam for Mumbai.
BCCI’s stern stance on players honoring domestic commitments was reiterated by board’s secretary Jay Shah, who warned of severe implications for neglecting domestic cricket to the centrally-contracted and India A cricketers. The board’s quote emphasized that players must not solely prioritize international matches or the IPL.
“All contracted players have been told on phone and I’ll be writing to them too. If chairman of selectors, coach & captain want you to play red-ball cricket then you gotta play. ‘Nakhre Nahi Chalenge’ (no tantrums). And as far as Ishan Kishan is concerned, he is young, I am not saying this specifically about him as it will be applicable for all the players uniformly,” Shah had told the reporters.
“Everyone will have to play, otherwise, the chairman of the selection committee has given me his suggestions and I am going to give him a free hand to let him take his own calls freely,” he added.
Contradictions emerged as reports hinted at Iyer’s fitness, suggesting he might have feigned the injury. The head of sports science and medicine at the National Cricket Academy Nitin Patel declared Iyer ‘fit’ in an email to BCCI selectors, asserting there was ‘no fresh injury.’
While the 29-year-old Iyer has informed his state association about missing Ranji games and the upcoming quarter-final against Baroda due to back pain, questions linger over the authenticity of his injury claims.
Iyer’s case is not isolated with wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and pacer Deepak Chahar also sidelining themselves from the entire Ranji season for Jharkhand and Rajasthan respectively.
In light of Iyer’s struggles in Test cricket, where his highest score in his last 13 innings has been 35 against England in Hyderabad, his absence from domestic cricket raises questions about his readiness to reclaim a spot in the national Test team.