Reports: Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan among 30 inductees for NCA High Performance Training Programme

Latest reports have emerged revealing that India cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been selected for the high performance monitoring programme at Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy (NCA) by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Once mainstays of the Indian team, the out-of-favour duo has been ignored by the selection committee as a punitive measure for disciplinary issues.

The programme is focused for the 2024-25 domestic season of the BCCI calendar. The key focus for Iyer and Kishan will now be to take active part in domestic games for their respective sides, which, in turn, may help them earn back an opportunity to don the national jersey again. Notably, the programme will be attended by 30 such players under VVS Laxman, who is likely to retain the position of NCA chairman VVS Laxman, according to The Times of India.

“The BCCI, or the national selection committee has nothing against Iyer and Kishan If they improve their attitude towards domestic cricket and turn out for their state teams (Mumbai and Jharkhand) in the forthcoming domestic season, there's every chance that their central contracts will be restored and they will be recalled into the Indian team, if they perform well. This is a signal to them that they are on the radar of the selectors,” a BCCI source revealed.

Riyan Parag, Mumbai players reap rewards for stellar domestic showings

Among the inductees for the programme are players from Mumbai, who emerged triumphant in the latest Ranji Trophy tournament. This includes the likes of Musheer Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, and Prithvi Shaw, who will be taking part in the month-long schedule under a close watch of Laxman & Co. Meanwhile, young all-rounder Riyan Parag, who is arguably in the form of his life, has also been chosen to undergo the camp to nourish his game to a level above.

Other list of uncapped cricketers include Ashutosh Sharma, R Sai Kishore, Kuldeep Sen, and Harshit Rana. Players who've represented the Men in Blue—Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Avesh Khan, Umran Malik among others are also a part of the lot. The camp will be held at the new facility of the NCA, and not the one adjacent to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The new state-of-the-art centre will be ready by August 2024, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had revealed earlier this week.

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“At some stage (dates aren't finalised) these 30 selected players for NCA's high-performance programme are likely to undergo around a month-long camp at the new state-of-the-art NCA facility near Bengaluru under chairman VVS Laxman. The new NCA will be launched by the BCCI in August. Most of these players have done well in domestic cricket,” the source added.

The selectors in the junior committee have also hand-picked players for the U-23 camp to give them an entry into domestic cricket. The source added further, “Now, the junior national selection committee will pick a set of players for the U-23 camp of those players who are yet to feature in domestic cricket.”