Keeper-batter Ishan Kishan and middle-order Shreyas Iyer, who were recently in the news for skipping the Ranji Trophy despite BCCI’s directive, have been axed from the Indian cricket board’s central contracts list.
The BCCI had ordered centrally contracted fit players to feature in the premier domestic tournament, but both the cricketers ignored the instruction. Kishan recently made a comeback to competitive cricket with the DY Patil T20 Cup, while Shreyas has been named in the Mumbai squad for the Ranji Trophy 2024 semi-final against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai.
While confirming the central contracts for 2023-24, the BCCI released an official statement on Wednesday, February 28 and said, “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.”
“The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team,” the board added in its official release.
Meanwhile, there are only four Indian players in the top bracket of Grade A+. Apart from skipper Rohit Sharma and senior batter Virat Kohli, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and versatile all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had a Grade A+ contract.
Six players have been handed A category contracts. The list includes veteran off-spinner off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be playing his 100th Test when India face England in Dharamsala. The 37-year-old Ashwin recently became the second Indian to claim 500-plus wickets in Tests, emulating Anil Kumble, who finished his Test career with 619 wickets.
Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya are the others players in the A category. Siraj has been promoted from Grade B to Grade A, while all-rounder Axar Patel has been demoted from A to B.
Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has made a brilliant start to his international career, after part of Grade B category. Pant has lost his A category contract because he hasn’t played any cricket since December 2022 due to his horrific car accident.
Further, 15 players have been handed Grade C contracts. 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 feature in this list. Further, cricketers who end up playing a minimum of three Tests or eight ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically get included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis. Being so, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan will be part of Grade C if they feature in the Dharamsala Test against England, starting March 7.
Among prominent names who have been dropped from the BCCI central contracts are Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. All the players have not been in the reckoning for selection lately, although leggie Chahal still stands a chance of making a comeback.
This time, the BCCI has also released names of players who have been recommended fast bowling contracts by the selection committee. Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa have been given fast bowling contracts. Akash Deep recently impressed on Test debut for India against England in Ranchi.
BCCI 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
–By A Cricket Correspondent