Jay Shah has long ‘on-field’ chat with Ishan Kishan after BCCI contract snub

Board of Control for Cricket in India honourary secretary Jay Shah had a long chat with Mumbai Indians batter Ishan Kishan after the conclusion of the team’s Indian Premier League opener against Gujarat Titans.

Shah, who was in attendance for the game was seen wrapping his arm around the shoulder of Kishan and having words with him in kind hearted manner. Shah had earlier put out stern words for Kishan and other India players who had not been prioritising domestic cricket in the last 12 months.

Ishan Kishan had not played top tier cricket since November 2023 end. The wicketkeeper batter had pulled out of the South Africa Test series citing personal reasons and took a break from the action. Kishan did not participate in the Ranji Trophy 2024 and instead prioritised his training ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024.

This had infuriated the BCCI, who on February 28 had announced that Kishan had been snubbed from the annual retainership for the senior men’s team cricketers for the 2023-24 cycle.

In a big move, the national body removed Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the annual retainership contract list despite both of them featuring in India’s ODI World Cup campaign last year.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were retained in the top bracket (A+) as 30 players were included in the central contracts list. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been removed from the annual retainership contract after they missed the majority of the ongoing domestic cricket season despite directives from the board and its secretary Jay Shah.

“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 statement, adding that the board has directed the players to “give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team,” the BCCI had said in its statement.

IPL 2024: ISHAN KISHAN VS GT
Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan failed on his return to Indian Premier League. Playing against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, 24 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Kishan got out for a four ball duck while batting against Azmatullah Omarzai in the first over of the match. Ishan edged the fourth ball of the over to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

Kishan’s poor time in Indian cricket continued as the opener failed to vindicate his snub from the Board of Control for Cricket in India contracts.

The MI batters failed to put together a good show while chasing 169 and lost by 6 runs against Gujarat Titans.