28 February,2024 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
India’s Shreyas Iyer. Pic/Getty Images
India's all-format batsman Shreyas Iyer not getting a BCCI annual contract has surprised Kolkata Knight Riders's head coach Chandrakant Pandit.
BCCI announced a list of 30 contracted players on Wednesday, in which India captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been retained in the top Grade âA' plus category.
Mumbai's Iyer, 29, has only played a single Ranji Trophy game - against Andhra Pradesh this season (in January).
India wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan too has not got a contract.
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"Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations," the BCCI said in a press release on Wednesday evening.
"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," Pandit told mid-day from Nagpur on Wednesday.
Iyer, who missed Mumbai's Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda, has conveyed to Mumbai's chief selector Raju Kulkarni that he wants to play in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu, starting on March 2 at MCA-BKC.
He had scored 35 and 13 in the first Test against England at Hyderabad and followed that up with 27 and 29 in the second Test at Visakhapatnam after which he was excluded from the team. Iyer will be leading KKR's challenge in the upcoming IPL after missing the last season through injury. "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," remarked Pandit, who will be guiding Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha starting at Nagpur on March 2.
"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. "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," Pandit added.
