"Nakhre Nahi Chalenge": Amid Ishan Kishan Row, Jay Shah's Warning To Indian Players

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah made it clear on Wednesday that all centrally contracted cricketers will have to mandatorily play red-ball cricket in the domestic circuit and the management will not tolerate any kind of excuses in the matter. While interacting with the reporters at the sidelines of the renaming ceremony of the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Shah pointed out that all players will have to represent their state teams if called upon by coach or captain. The statement came amidst the controversy surrounding Ishan Kishan and reports that suggest that BCCI has asked him to play for Jharkhand in Ranji Trophy.

Shah mentioned Kishan during the interaction but quickly added that the announcement was not targeted towards him and this rule will apply for all cricketers who are not part of the national team.

“All contracted players have been told on phone and I'll be writing to them too. If chairman of selectors, coach & captain want you to play red-ball cricket then you gotta play. ‘Nakhre Nahi Chalenge' (no tantrums). And as far as Ishan Kishan is concerned, he is young, I am not saying this specifically about him as it will be applicable for all the players uniformly,” Jay Shah told reporters.

"Everyone will have to play, otherwise, the chairman of the selection committee has given me his suggestions and I am going to give him a free hand to let him take his own calls freely," he added.

Shah also made it clear that all decisions will be taken after consulting the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

"Whatever advice we get from the NCA — say suppose somebody's body is not able to handle both white-ball and red-ball cricket — so we do not want to impose anything in that regard," he said.

"(It applies to) whoever is fit