Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were both not given central contracts for the 2023–24 season.
Former Indian fast bowler Praveen Kumar shared his views on the ongoing debate regarding players prioritizing franchise cricket over representing their country.
However, Praveen admitted the importance of earning money through leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL), but he stressed the need for players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan to maintain focus on domestic cricket as well.
His comments came after Iyer and Kishan were excluded from the central contracts list for the 2023–24 season by the BCCI for declining to play in the Ranji Trophy 2024 for their respective state teams.
Notably, Iyer missed Mumbai's crucial quarterfinal match against Baroda and had a lackluster performance in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu, scoring just three runs off eight balls.
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Praveen Kumar told Times of India: “I have been saying this for long. Paisa kamao, kaun mana kar rha hai? Paisa kamane chahiye lekin aise bhi nahi hona chahiye ki aap domestic nahi khel rahe, country ko importance nahi de rahe. (Earn money, who is stopping you? But it shouldn’t be like you are not playing for the country or domestic cricket). This thing is now firmly in the mind of players.”
He added, “Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun (Will rest for a month before the IPL and then play. This happens because mentally you are not willing to let go of that money). But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong.”
IPL 2024 begins on 22 March, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opener.
(With TOI Inputs)