New Delhi: A few days ago, Shreyas Iyer along with Ishan Kishan had been omitted from the 2023/24 BCCI Central Contracts List, with the board saying that the duo were not recommended to be amongst the 30 players to get the annual retainership. Regarding Iyer, who pulled out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Baroda due to a back issue, a report in Revsportz says BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar was furious when he came to know about the right-handed batter being present at the Academy of his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, who he captains in the tournament.
As the chief selector, Agarkar is in charge of finalising the central contracts and Iyer was dropped from the central contracts list. Currently, Iyer is playing for Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu at the BKC Ground in Mumbai. Iyer was one of the key performers in India’s runners-up finish in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup last year, making 530 runs in 11 matches, including a century in the semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. He had been in a race against time to be fit for the tournament due to a back injury needing surgery but got fit enough to play in the mega event.
But Iyer hadn’t left a mark in the first two Tests against England, making scores of 35 and 13 in Hyderabad, followed by 27 and 29 in Visakhapatnam. He was then left out of India’s squad for the last three Tests against England. In his last seven Test matches, Iyer has amassed only 187 runs at an average of 17, with a top score of just 35. IANS
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