In the midst of the controversy over Shreyas and Kishan’s decision to skip domestic cricket, the BCCI has sent out a strong signal by omitting both of them from the central contracts list announced on Wednesday, February 28. While Shreyas was dropped over poor form after the first two Tests against England, Kishan hasn’t played for India since November last year.
Speaking to Revsportz, Ganguly shared his thoughts on the Kishan-Shreyas vs BCCI row and commented, "I think the BCCI wants them to play first class cricket. I am surprised why Shreyas Iyer has not played Ranji Trophy. It is a premier tournament and you are supposed to play. So, it is a decision by BCCI and what they have thought right they have done. Every contracted cricketer must play first class cricket because that is the basic premise of cricket in this country.”
The 51-year-old added that a contracted player is expected to play the country’s premier tournament when he is not on national duty. “Shreyas Iyer is playing the semi-final for Mumbai in a couple of days' time. Yes, they are young people and Ishan has surprised me. He was part of the Indian team in all formats. Such a big contract in IPL. I don't know why he has done that. You must play especially when you are as gifted as Ishan Kishan. When you are playing for India in all formats, you must play. I was surprised by his decision not to," the former India opener added.
While Shreyas has been named in the Mumbai squad for the Ranji Trophy 2024 semi-finals against Tamil Nadu, which will be played in Mumbai from March 2, Kishan is taking part in the DY Patil T20 Cup. He was part of the Test squad in South Africa last year and subsequently pulled out citing personal reasons.
Ganguly also hailed Rohit Sharma for the manner in which he has led India. Describing him as a good captain, the former BCCI president added that he is not surprised by Rohit’s success.
"Look at the way he captained in the World Cup. Taking India to the final. I think India was the best team in the competition till they lost the final. So he is a good captain, IPL trophies. I am not surprised by the way he led. He became the captain when I was the BCCI president, and I am not surprised by the way he has led the team. I made him the Indian captain because I saw the talent in him, and I am not surprised by what he has done," Ganguly concluded.
Under Rohit, India were unbeaten in the 2023 World Cup until be hammered by Australia in the final.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
