"What message is it going to give to all the youngsters?" - Kamran Akmal on Ishan Kishan-Shreyas Iyer saga 

Pakistani keeper-batter Kamran Akmal believes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did the right thing by terminating Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer's central contracts.

Reacting to Iyer's reported reluctance to play first-class matches, Akmal stated that a senior player should set better examples for the youngsters. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, he said:

"Shreyas Iyer played the first two Tests of the series. If you don't value the cricket because of which you made it to the national team, what message is it going to give to all the youngsters?"

It is worth mentioning that Shreyas Iyer did play Mumbai's Ranji Trophy 2024 match against Andhra after being left out of India's T20I squad for the Afghanistan home series. He scored a run-a-ball 48 in the first innings.

The right-handed batter is also named in Mumbai's squad for their upcoming semifinals against Tamil Nadu, which is set to be played in Mumbai from March 2 to 6.

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"Nobody is bigger than the game" - Kamran Akmal lauds BCCI for taking strict action against Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan

Kamran Akmal reserved high praise for the BCCI for not retaining Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan in their new central contract list. He suggested that, after this decision, no other player would think of opting out of first-class matches.

Lauding the BCCI, the 42-year-old added:

"BCCI has made the right call, taking such strict action early on to control the damage. If they had given them a levy and handed them central contracts, a lot more players would have started playing on their own terms in the future. India have given a message to their players to ensure that nobody even thinks of doing something like this the next time. This is proof of good management. Nobody is bigger than the game."

The focus will be on Iyer in the Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinal, considering his underwhelming form in red-ball cricket. His last half-century in Test cricket came in December 2022 against Bangladesh.