'Face challenges, come back stronger': Shastri on Iyer-Kishan's exclusion from BCCI contracts

Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (Pic: AFP)

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has called upon Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were excluded from the BCCI contracts on Wednesday, to dig deep within themselves and come up stronger, saying 'comebacks define the spirit' in the game of cricket.

Earlier, batter Iyer was not part of Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, held on February 23, due to "back spasms". He represents Mumbai in Ranji Trophy.

Wicketkeeper-batter Kishan skipped Ranji Trophy matches recently. He was in the Indian squad for the South Africa Test series last year but pulled out due to "personal reasons". He last played a T20I for India in November last year sitting out Ranji matches featuring 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.

In last year's central contracts, Iyer was in Grade B while Kishan was in Grade C.

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Kishan played for India was in the T20I format against Australia in Guwahati in November, following that he did not make to the first eleven. The 25-year-old was in the T20I squad in South Africa in December 2023 but did not take part in any of the three games.

Iyer was dropped from the India squad for the last three Tests after playing the first two Test of the five-match series against England. He managed to score just 35 runs in the matches played at Hyderabad and Vizag.

Meanwhile, the elite bracket, Grade A+, remains the same for the year with captain Rohit Sharma, veteran batter Virat Kohli, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the top earners.

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, speedster Mohammed Shami, and Pandya retained their Grade A contracts, while KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Shubman Gill moved up from Grade B last year.

The top-ranked T20I hitter, Suryakumar Yadav is in Grade B along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has received his maiden BCCI central contract.

(With agency inputs)