Sourav Ganguly gives his verdict on Ishan Kishan BCCI contract row, cites Ishant Sharma's example

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Sourav Ganguly has given his verdict on BCCI terminating Ishan Kishan's central contract for not playing domestic cricket despite being fit and not on national duty. The 25-year-old did not play any Ranji Trophy match for Jharkhand despite repeated hints from the board and Indian team management.

Ishan Kishan took a break from cricket citing mental break during the South Africa tour in December. Ahead of the five-match Test series against England, head coach Rahul Dravid made it clear that Kishan would have to play some kind of domestic cricket before making himself available for selection.

However, the wicketkeeper-batter travelled to Baroda to train with his Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya ahead of the IPL 2024. The same did not go well with the management and board selectors.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has reckoned that BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Jay Shah should speak to Ishan Kishan and explain to him the importance of Indian domestic cricket. He said all the Delhi Capitals (DC) players, including Ishant Sharma, who hasn't been picked in the Indian team since 2021, played domestic cricket recently.

“For someone like Ishan Kishan, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, president Roger Binny and the selectors need to speak to him. All this while he has played Ranji and then played white-ball cricket. Has it made him a poorer player? It hasn’t,” Ganguly told The Times of India.

“All the players picked in Delhi Capitals have played Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy. Even Ishant Sharma has played Ranji,” the former BCCI president further added.

After India won the Ranchi Test to take an unassailable 3-1 lead against England, India captain Rohit Sharma also made it clear that players 'hungry' to perform will be given the opportunity.

"Jin logon ko bhookh hai, hum unhi logon ko mauka denge. Agar hunger nahi hai to unko khila ke koi matlab nahi hai (We will give opportunities to only those who are hungry. There's no point in playing those who don't have the hunger)," he said after the win.