New Delhi, Feb. 29 -- Out-of-favour batters Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were shown the exit door by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for ignoring the apex cricket board's directive to feature in the Ranji Trophy on Wednesday. Iyer and Kishan's names went missing from the 30-player annual retainership list shared by the BCCI for the 2023-2024 season. With opinions taking flight after BCCI unveiled the list of centrally-contracted players, former India head coach Ravi Shastri reserved special praise for board secretary Jay Shah.

For the first time, the BCCI revealed the list of selected players who received the fast bowling contracts. The selection committee has been handing out fast-bowling offers to Indian pacers since ...