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The disgraced duo of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were excluded after ignoring the directive to play the Ranji Trophy, while captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli were expected to retain their place in the top group when the BCCI unveiled its centrally contracted players. for this year on Wednesday. Kishan, 25, did not feature for Jharkhand during the team’s entire Ranji Trophy campaign despite not being on national duty since he abandoned the tour of South Africa in December due to personal reasons. Instead, he has focused on preparing for the IPL next month.
Iyer, on the other hand, was unavailable for Mumbai’s Ranji quarter-final against Baroda after being left out of the Indian team after the second Test against England. He, however, has been chosen for the Ranji semi-finals starting March 2.
Announcing the central contracts for 2023-24, the BCCI has once again advised all Indian cricketers to play domestic matches when not on national duty.
“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” the BCCI said in a statement.
“The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give priority to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team,” the board added.
His exclusion can be seen as a harsh message to young players who are unwilling to put in the effort in first-class cricket, while chasing white-ball glory and lucrative IPL contracts.
Rohit, Kohli, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were kept in the A plus category, the highest group in the BCCI’s central contract list.
Six cricketers are listed in Category A, including senior player R Ashwin, who will play his 100th Test next week when India takes on England in the fifth and final game. Ashwin recently became the second Indian bowler after former captain Anil Kumble to cross 500 wickets in Tests.
Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya are the others listed in the A category.
Siraj, who was previously in the B category, was promoted while Axar Patel was moved down from A to B.
Others in the B category are Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has had a stellar start to his international career.
Pant was in A category last year but is in B category in the latest contracts as he has not played cricket since his horrific accident in December 2022.
As many as 15 were awarded category C contracts including Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh. Khan and Rajat Patidar.
Cricketers who end up playing a minimum of three Tests or eight ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period are automatically included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis.
For example, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, who have played two Test matches so far, will be included in C Grade after featuring in the fifth and final match against England in Dharamsala starting March 7.
Pujara, Chahal and Dhawan fell
The big names who have lost their contracts include Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who have fallen out of favor with the selectors.
It signals the end of the road for players like Pujara, but Chahal, 33, can still hold his own if he plays more matches.
The selection committee also recommended fast bowling contracts for Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa. This system has been in place since 2021-22, but it is the first time that the BCCI has officially released the names of the selected players.
Akash Deep impressed on debut in the recent fourth Test against England, which India won to seal the series.
Contrary to usual, the BCCI this time has not mentioned the remuneration of the players in the four categories.
Cricketers are typically paid Rs 7 million per year in A plus category, Rs 5 million in A, Rs 3 million in B and Rs 1 million in C category, in addition to their match fees. .
Central contracts for 2023-24: Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade A: R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Grade B: Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar.
Fast bowling contracts: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.
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