Former Kolkata Knight Riders player makes bizarre statement: 'Virat Kohli can skip domestic matches, but not Shreyas Iyer.'

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has removed Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contract list for not participating in the Ranji Trophy matches. Reports suggest that Iyer attended a camp organized by his IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, after declining to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Baroda. Former KKR player Brad Hogg criticized Iyer, stating that players should prioritise domestic cricket when they have the time. Hogg also noted that Iyer cannot simply practice with his franchise.

“If you have the time to play domestic cricket, you should do it. For Iyer, he can’t leave his state team to practice with the IPL franchise. If you are not in the Indian team, you should go and play for your domestic team. Only Virat Kohli is allowed to miss domestic matches as he has done a lot for the Indian cricket and he needs a break to recover.”

Meanwhile, a KKR official stated that Iyer had taken the injection to play for Team India in the ICC World Cup 2023, and had even skipped the IPL in the same year. The official also mentioned that Iyer was not given a break after the global event in India.