Rahul Dravid on Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer losing BCCI contracts: 'Don't know who is contracted and who is not'

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Reacting to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan losing BCCI's central contracts, India head coach Rahul Dravid said that he does not get to decide players who feature in the list. Dravid said his duty with captain Rohit Sharma was restricted to picking the best playing eleven before a match.

After India won the Dharamsala Test by an innings and 64 runs and won the series 4-1 on Saturday, March 9, Dravid was asked about his reaction to Iyer and Kishan losing their BCCI contracts. The former India captain said that non-contracted players have also played in the past.

"I don't decide contracts or discuss that. I don't even know what the criteria is. Both are in the mix and hope they play cricket, stay fit and force the selectors to pick them. No one is out of contention, players without contracts have also played," Dravid said after India's big win in Dharamsala.

"Rohit and I select playing 11. Sometimes even I don't know who is contracted and who is not. No one is out of the mix," he added.

Ishan Kishan took a break during the South Africa tour, and later chose to train with his Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya, ignoring Ranji Trophy matches for Jharkhand.

Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, skipped Ranji Trophy quarter-finals for Mumbai citing back issue despite NCA denying any fresh injury to him. However, he went to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Academy for practice. The same left BCCI and the selectors miffed.

Further, Rahul Dravid backed Shardul Thakur's appeal to manage the domestic schedule better. Shardul. who smashed a hundred for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals against Tamil Nadu, called for longer breaks between matches.

"We need to hear the players. They are the ones putting bodies on the line. If they are saying, we need to see how to manage the domestic schedule better," he added.

Breaks of three days were given between two sets of matches in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. The final match will be played between Mumbai and Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from Sunday, March 10.