IPL 2025: Shreyas Iyer Has a Point to Prove After BCCI's Contract Insult

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially released the list of player contracts for the upcoming year. There was a lot of discussion over what will happen to senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja, who decided to retire from T20Is last year.

Usually, BCCI has revealed that A+, the highest contract, will be given to those who play all three formats; in the recently released list of contracts, BCCI has still put Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja in the A+ contract.

According to the rules laid out by the board, only Jasprit Bumrah is currently playing all three formats, but Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja still got A+ contracts. The positive news is Shreyas Iyer got his annual contract back, but despite his stupendous contributions to the team ever since his international comeback, Iyer is only given a grade-B contract.

Alongside Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan is also given a contract, and he joins a long list of players like Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, and others with Grade-C contracts.

Shreyas Iyer is truly deserving of a Grade A contract at the minimum. He has consistently demonstrated his superiority in white-ball cricket, and although his test game requires improvement, he is poised to emerge as one of the game's greatest players in ODI cricket.

It's mainly due to his contributions with the bat that India ended up lifting the Champions Trophy. During his time away from the team, Shreyas worked on his stance and on his game. Shreyas Iyer, who previously had a weakness against short-pitched balls, has turned it into his strength. Now, bowlers are hesitant to deliver bouncers to him. Such is the improvement he had displayed in his short time away from the game.

Even for legendary players, altering one's technique and transforming into a unique player is a challenging task, yet Shreyas has demonstrated his unwavering determination to don Indian colors and represent his country in cricket. His not getting a Grade A contract might be demoralizing, as he has done everything he can to make Team India win whenever he plays.

This is the reason why he should win the IPL with Punjab Kings under familiar mentor Ricky Ponting. By his own admission, Gautam Gambhir received all the credit for the title he won with Kolkata Knight Riders last year. Surely, Gambhir had a role to play, but a coach's role will usually be limited to strategy off the field.

When players have taken the field, it's the captain and his decisions that shape the course of a match and the chances of his team winning. This is what Shreyas did with KKR silently, and if he can repeat the same with Punjab Kings, he will surely be given more credit for his leadership and strategic skills.