Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has urged Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were left out of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) central contracts, to find their inner strength and bounce back stronger. Shastri believes that comebacks are a true reflection of the spirit of cricket.
Earlier, the Mumbai team's batter, Iyer, was unable to participate in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals on February 23 due to back spasms.
Kishan, a wicketkeeper-batter, recently decided not to participate in the Ranji Trophy matches. He was part of the Indian squad for the South Africa Test series last year but withdrew from the matches due to personal reasons. Kishan's last appearance in a T20I for India was in November of the previous year, during which he opted to skip the Ranji matches that involved Jharkhand.
"In the game of cricket, comebacks define the spirit. Chin-up, @ShreyasIyer15 and @ishankishan51! Dig deep, face challenges, and come back even stronger. Your past achievements speak volumes, and I have no doubt you'll conquer once again," Shastri said in a post on X.
Last year, Iyer held a Grade B central contract, whereas Kishan had a Grade C contract.
Iyer was excluded from the Indian team for the final three Tests following his participation in the first two Tests of the five-match series against England. In the matches held in Hyderabad and Vizag, he could only accumulate a total of 35 runs.
Meanwhile, the highest category, Grade A+, remains unchanged for the year, featuring captain Rohit Sharma, experienced batsman Virat Kohli, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the highest-paid players.
Ravichandran Ashwin, an experienced spinner, along with fast bowler Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Pandya, have maintained their Grade A contracts. On the other hand, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Shubman Gill have been promoted from Grade B contracts that they had last year.
Suryakumar Yadav, the highest-ranked T20I batsman, is placed in Grade B, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has recently been awarded his first central contract by the BCCI.
