Kirti Azad, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, expressed support for the BCCI's directive mandating cricketers to participate in the Ranji Trophy, stating that it's a positive step and should apply to all Indian team players, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

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Kirti Azad on Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan

The exclusion of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from the list of centrally-contracted players for ignoring the Ranji Trophy directive was seen as a consequence of their actions. Kirti Azad emphasized the importance of playing Ranji Trophy cricket, highlighting its significance over the IPL in terms of honing skills and staying connected to the essence of the sport.

“It (directive) is a very good move. Everybody should be playing Ranji Trophy cricket, but currently the emphasis is on the IPL. It is good, it is entertaining but the real cricket is the (five) days' cricket. Playing in domestic cricket is good, it keeps you in touch,” Kirti Azad said.

“But whenever you are free, even if you're a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, you should go back and play domestic cricket for the state. That (state) gave you the opportunity to be a player, get selected and then play for the country,” he added.

He advocated for a universal application of the directive, suggesting that all players, regardless of their stature, should be encouraged to return to domestic cricket for their respective states whenever they have the opportunity. Azad believed that penalizing only Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer wasn't fair and that everyone should be held to the same standards.

"Just to penalise the two is not correct, I think everybody should be penalised. Everybody should be seen with the same mirror," Azad told PTI Video.

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It seems that Iyer and Kishan may have intentionally avoided playing domestic cricket for their teams even after being released from the national squad. Despite warnings from the BCCI, their stance remained unchanged, leading to the revocation of their annual contracts by the board.

(With PTI inputs)