With many ex-cricketers reacting and sharing their opinions on Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s termination of BCCI annual contracts, the former Indian coach Madan Lal has also opened upon the exclusion.
Madan Lal on Iyer-Kishan’s snub
Madan Lal feels that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan should have played in the Ranji Trophy games after BCCI’s statement to avoid getting snubbed from the annual contract list.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan neither played for the national side nor in the domestic circuit for Mumbai and Jharkhand respectively. They missed matches in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season which led to their exclusion from the annual contract.
Ishan Kishan did not play in the South African tour due to his reasons and Iyer was ruled out after the second test of the ongoing series of England’s tour of India 2024.
On this occasion, Madan Lal was supportive of BCCI statement on players playing first-class cricket by saying, “If the BCCI told them to play first-class cricket, they should have gone and played. No one is bigger than the game.”
“The BCCI should be given the credit as they are making it mandatory to play first-class cricket. Most of the players nowadays are taking first-class cricket for granted because of the IPL.”
“The BCCI made a rule that every player should go and play first-class cricket. So if you don’t follow the rules, then they have to take some action and set an example for others.”
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were part of the Indian squad which completed as runners of the World Cup 2023 tournament.
Despite Shreyas Iyer being named in the Mumbai Squad to play in the semifinal match of the Ranji Trophy 2024 schedule, he did not play in the quarter-finals of the match.
Despite backing BCCI statement, Madan Lal suggests that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan could return to the side by showing their fitness in the first class.
“They have to play (first-class cricket) if they are fit. The main thing is fitness. If they are fit, then they can play the first-class season.”
“But a good season in IPL can always be beneficial, and there is no doubt about their class. They have done so well here and there. But it is the BCCI making sure that the boys are disciplined,” said Madan Lal.
Madan Lal also lauded India’s bench strength and emphasized its importance in bringing excellent results.
“It is true that players like Sarfaraz and Jurel are coming. But Kishan and Shreyas here have done well. It’s not that they are there without the performances.”
“But the good thing is that we have a bench strength to replace them. And it’s very, very important to have team B as well as discipline within the team if we want to produce a better result,” concluded Madan Lal.
India has clinched the home series against England 3-1 with several test debutants who were impressive in the match. India and England will be playing their fifth test starting on March 07 at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala.
