Ishan-Shreyas: "Saha said - you cannot do it by force." Has the controversy not stopped yet?

BCCI had said in a statement that both the cricketers were not considered for annual contracts. On this, Saha said that this is the decision of BCCI and the personal decision of the players concerned.

Veteran India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha on Thursday said that nothing can be 'forced' if a cricketer does not want to play domestic cricket. He also said that domestic cricket is the basis of becoming a good player, and everyone should give it enough importance to be successful. Saha's reaction came after Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were left out of the BCCI's annual central contract list for the 2023-24 season.

What Did Wriddhiman Saha Say?

BCCI had said in a statement that both the cricketers were not considered for annual contracts. On this, Saha said, 'This is the decision of BCCI and the personal decision of the players concerned. You cannot force anything or force someone to play. Both of them were part of the Indian team till some time ago. Both were also seen playing in the ODI World Cup last year. Kishan was last part of the Test team during India's tour of South Africa in December, while Iyer played the first two Tests of the current series against England.

Saha's Statement Regarding Domestic Cricket

Saha said that a cricketer should set an example and give equal importance to every match. He said, 'Whenever I am fit, I play all types of matches, I even play club matches, office matches. I always treat a home match as a big match. For me, all competitions are equal. If every player thinks like this, they will only enhance their career and it will be better for Indian cricket also.

'Domestic cricket will always be important'

He said, 'I believe that domestic cricket has always been important because if I talk about Sarfaraz Khan, he has scored a lot of runs in the last four years. He has certainly performed. Saha described the batting of young wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel as excellent. Jurel scored 46 runs on his Test debut in the third Test and then became the player of the match with scores of 90 and 39 not out in the fourth Test in Ranchi.

Saha Praised Jurel

Saha said, 'I have never seen him (Jurel) in domestic cricket, nor have I seen him play in Test matches, but his batting is excellent. He won the last Test for the team. Saha also feels that the future of Indian cricket is bright as its bench strength once again shows the importance of the domestic circuit. “It's always good to see your reserve bench ready whenever someone gets an opportunity,” he said.

'Some players don't want to play'

He said, 'Some players are getting opportunities, but they do not want to play, which they should not do. Whenever you get a chance to play, you should play whether it is red ball or white ball. Saha played 40 tests and scored 1353 runs. He made 104 dismissals behind the wicket, which included 92 catches and 12 stumpings.