 "'Paisa kamao, but...': Praveen Kumar's take on Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan's IPL vs India controversy")
Former India pacer Praveen Kumar has become the latest cricketer to weigh in on the club vs country debate, and while he encouraged the duo of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan to continue earning money, they should remain focussed on prioritising domestic and international cricket over the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Both Iyer and Kishan failed to turn up for their respective states in Ranji Trophy. Iyer even missed Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Baroda and scored just three runs off eight balls in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu. And last week, both Iyer and Kishan were discarded from the BCCI central contracts list for 2023-24. Iyer had also endured a disappointing outing for India in the first two Tests against England, aggregating just 104 runs.
Also read: Sunil Gavaskar offers take on Shreyas, Ishan losing BCCI contracts
“I have been saying this for long. Paisa kamao, kaun mana kar rha hai? Paisa kamane chahiye lekin aise bhi nahi hona chahiye ki aap domestic nahi khel rahe, country ko importance nahi de rahe. (Earn money, who is stopping you? But it shouldn’t be like you are not playing for the country or domestic cricket). This thing is now firmly in the mind of players, “ Praveen Kumar told Times of India.
Praveen went onto say that it was important for players to balance things out. “Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun (Will rest for a month before the IPL and then play. This happens because mentally you are not willing to let go of that money). But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” added the 37-year-old.
Kishan, meanwhile, last played for India in a T20I against Australia in November in Guwahati, where he endured a five-ball duck.
IPL 2024 begins on 22 March, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opener.
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