'Shreyas Iyer skipped IPL for World Cup': Report reveals why KKR captain skipped Ranji Trophy quarter-finals

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Days after being dropped from BCCI's central contracts list, Shreyas Iyer is participating in the Ranji Trophy semi-final match for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu. His non-participation in the quarter-finals despite being fit and not on national duty is being considered as the main reason why a miffed BCCI left him without a central contract.

Shreyas Iyer complained of back pain and groin issue as he was dropped after the second Test against England because of his poor run in the format. However, a day after Shreyas Iyer informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that he was not available for selection, NCA in an email to the selectors confirmed that there was no fresh injury and the 29-year-old was fit.

Shreyas Iyer going to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Academy instead of playing Ranji Trophy quarterfinals added fuel to the fire, and he was dropped from the BCCI contracts list alongside Ishan Kishan - the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter who originally brought attention of the board to players prioritising IPL over domestic cricket.

Shreyas Iyer's side of stour

However, a report in Revsportz has explained Shreyas Iyer's side of story, suggesting that the right-hander fell victim to the wrath of BCCI due to the Ishan Kishan incident of not playing Ranji Trophy matches and instead travelling to Baroda to train with his Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya.

According to a report in Revsportz, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain went to the KKR Academy to build his workload. "After playing 60 balls in a session, his back was building spasms. He had to build up his resistance. Now he is playing 200 balls per session. In three weeks, he has put on three kilos of muscles. The Mumbai Cricket Association and the Mumbai team head coach (Omkar Salvi) have been kept in the loop. In fact, the Mumbai coach visited the KKR Academy several times to monitor Iyer's progress. And now he has made himself available for the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu," the person said on conditions of anonymity.

"He skipped the IPL to play the World Cup. Even after the surgery, he took three painkiller injections to be pain-free for the World Cup. And yet, the pain returned during the semi-final and the final, and he played through it. Iyer was the only player who wasn't given a break after the World Cup. He played the home T20I series against Australia and then went to South Africa. After returning from South Africa, he was asked to play a Ranji game in January, ahead of the first two Tests against England. He did that. Doesn't a player have the liberty to train under a coach of his choice?"

Shreyas Iyer has been consistently playing cricket since his return from injury in the Asia Cup 2023. He also played a Ranji Trophy match after arriving from South Africa in January, and then joined the Indian team for the first two Tests of the 5-match series against England.