The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made headlines after the country's cricket governing body on Wednesday dropped Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from their annual contracts over snubbing domestic cricket. The move received a positive response from the fraternity but former India cricketer Irfan Pathan raised questions on the equality of the decision after Hardik Pandya was retained in the contract despite playing no domestic matches.

Iyer and Kishan were axed from their contracts as they did not pay heed to BCCI's ultimatum to play in the Ranji Trophy. However, Iyer will play for Mumbai in the semifinal clash against Tamil Nadu after being dropped from India's Test squad following flop shows in the first two matches against England.

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Whereas, Kishan did not feature in any of Jharkhand's matches as their campaign ended after a quarterfinal loss against Madhya Pradesh in Indore last week.

On the same lines, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya did not show up for Ranji Trophy matches for Baroda in the season after spending months on the sidelines due to an ankle injury sustained during the ODI World Cup 2023. However, his contract was retained in the Grade A category with an annual remuneration of Rs 5 crore other than match fees and various perks.

Pathan opined that selective behaviour for players will not bring any good to Indian cricket.

"If players like Hardik don't want to play red ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren't on national duty?" he questioned BCCI's decision, in his post on X.

"If this doesn't apply to all, then Indian cricket won't achieve the desired results!" he added.

Both Iyer and Kishan will return to action in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, commencing on March 22. Iyer will lead the Kolkata Knight Riders while Ishan will join Pandya in the Mumbai Indians squad.

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Irfan believes that the duo will come back strongly.

"They are talented cricketers, both Shreyas and Ishan. Hoping they bounce back and come back stronger," he said.

The exclusion of Iyer and Kishan is being seen as a stern message to young players unwilling to put in the hard yards in first-class cricket, while chasing white-ball glory and lucrative IPL contracts. On Wednesday, former India coach Ravi Shastri also backed the embattled duo.

"In the game of cricket, comebacks define the spirit. Chin-up, @ShreyasIyer15 and @ishankishan51! Dig deep, face challenges, and come back even stronger. Your past achievements speak volumes, and I have no doubt you'll conquer once again," Shastri had posted on X.

(With PTI inputs)