Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha and Ajinkya Rahane found themselves down in the pecking order as far as the Indian Test team is concerned. As a result, they’ve also been downgraded in the BCCI annual central contracts list along with star all-rounder Hardik Pandya who has spent a lot of time on the sidelines because of injury.
The BCCI published its annual central contracts list after it got ratified by the Board’s apex council on Wednesday. Senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, veteran pace bowler Ishant Sharma and former Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane have all been downgraded in the NCCI central contracts.
The BCCI has four categories of central contracts for players – A+ with an annual slab of INR 7 crore, A with remuneration of INR 5 crore, B with INR 7 crore and C with INR 1 crore.
Compared to the 28 players who received central contracts from the BCCI last year, only 27 players find themselves on the list this time around. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah’s positions as the star players of the Indian team remain unchanged and they are the only three cricketers to receive an A+ contract with a salary of INR 7 crore.
Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah’s place in the Indian side is undisputed across all three formats which is why they have the highest contract tier in the country.
Senior Test figures Pujara, Rahane and Ishant Sharma have been downgraded from Grade A to Grade B. All three have been inconsistent as of late and have endured several slumps in form. They’ve also been dropped from the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka and there are doubts surrounding their future in the Indian Test side. The PTI had advanced news of them being downgraded in the contracts list as early as January 20.
The Group A, which had as many as 10 players last year, has now shrunk to five. Only Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have held on to their slots in Grade A.
Star all-rounde Pandya who will be seen leading the new franchise Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 has suffered the worst demotion in the BCCI central contracts list. Pandya’s back surgery in 2019 has affected his fitness severely and he has spent a lot of time on the sidelines. Even when available, the Baroda all-rounder hasn’t been bowling and there are plenty of suggestions that India are looking to new players to fill the all-rounder slot in the team. As a result, Pandya has been demoted from Grade A to Grade C along with senior opening batter Shikhar Dhawan who only plays one format for the team – One Day Internationals.
Wriddhiman Saha found himself in the thick of controversy after the BCCI alleged that he breached his contract by talking to the media about internal dressing room discussions with head coach Rahul Dravid as well as president Sourav Ganguly. However, Saha will still be richer by a crore as he has been downgraded from Grade B to Grade C.
Mayank Agarwal, who finds himself at the edge of the squad in all formats, has also been demoted from Group B to Group C. Mayank will be searching for consistency in the upcoming year and a possible captaincy stint with Punjab Kings might aid him.
Bowlers Kuldeep Yadav and Navdeep Saini are missing from the list. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj and Suryakumar Yadav have been rewarded for their fantastic performances. Both Siraj and Suryakumar have gotten off to tremendous starts to their international careers. Siraj got rewarded with a Grade B contract while Suryakumar is now in Group C of the central contracts list.
