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Veteran India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha reckoned nothing can be done “forcefully” if a cricketer does not wish to participate in domestic cricket. The statement came in the wake of BCCI’s move to exclude Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the annual retainers list for the 2023-24 season.
Ishan took a break from cricket, reportedly due to mental health fatigue during the tour of South Africa, before returning to action earlier this week in the DY Patil T20 tournament. On the other hand, there was confusion over Iyer‘s fitness status after being dropped from the Indian Test side during the home series against England, but the middle-order batter has made himself available for selection in the Ranji Trophy semifinal match that begins on Saturday.
However, the statement that summed up the board’s unprecedented move was: “The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.”
Saha did not give any opinion on the choices made by Ishan and Iyer to snub domestic cricket during their period away from the Indian team, but added that first-class cricket is the base and every player should value it enough to prosper.
“That is BCCI’s decision and personal decision of concerned players. Forcefully, you can’t do anything,” he said.
Saha last played for India in December 2021 before the selectors moved on to KS Bharat and Ishan for the wicketkeeping role. However, the veteran star remains an active cricketer in the domestic circuit where he plays for Tripura.
“Whenever I am fit I play, even I played club matches, office matches as well. I always treat a match as a match. All matches are equal for me. If every player thinks on those lines, they will only prosper in their career and it will be better for Indian cricket as well,” he added. “I feel the importance of domestic cricket is always there because if I talk about Sarfaraz Khan, he had scored plenty of runs in the last 4-5 years. Definitely, he has delivered.”
Saha, meanwhile, hailed Dhruv Jurel’s performance in Ranchi Test match where India won by five wickets. The youngster scored a sensational knock of 90 runs before carving out a patient 39 not out in the second innings to help India seal the five-match series against England.
“I have never seen him (Jurel) in domestic cricket, even in Test matches I have seen in him highlights. But his batting is outstanding, he won the last Test for the team,” he said.
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