BCCI has released Central Contracts for the 2023-24 season & two mainline players of the Indian team couldn’t make it to the lineup. Shreyas Iyer & Ishan Kishan were excluded from the list of BCCI Central Contracts 2024-25. Around 30 players were handed central contracts which doesn’t include Iyer & Kishan.
Coming to the players who received central contracts, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Mohammed Siraj have been elevated to the Grade A category while Rishabh Pant, who missed the majority of the season recovering from a road accident, finds himself in Grade B.
Last season, Shreyas Iyer held a Grade B contract, whereas Ishan Kishan had a Grade C contract. However, it’s important to note that neither Shreyas Iyer nor Ishan Kishan were included in the annual contract recommendations this time, as stated by the BCCI in a recent media release. The BCCI emphasized the importance of prioritizing participation in domestic cricket for all athletes during periods when they are not playing for the national team.
Retainers in BCCI Central Contracts 2023-24
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami have been retained in Grade A while Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja have been retained in the A+ category.
On the other hand, Axar Patel who had a Grade A contract in the 2023 season has been moved to Grade B. While Kuldeep Yadav who was earlier in Grade C has been moved to Grade B. Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal grabbed a Grade B contract & the oldie Suryakumar who was in Grade B manages to be in the same category. Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t find a contract this season, having been in Grade B in the previous one.
Coming to the Division C Category, 15 players have made it to this category. Earlier 11 players were included in the C category & now the number has been increased to 15. Among the C Category players, 10 are new inclusions they are Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar. The likes of Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, and KS Bharat have been retained in Grade C while Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Hooda, and Yuzvendra Chahal have been excluded.
Why Dhruv Jurel & Sarfaraz Khan can’t make it to the BCCI Central Contracts 2023-24
The annual contracts for 2023-24 apply from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Players who feature in a minimum of 3 Tests 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within this period will be automatically included in the Grade C category on a pro-rata basis. So if Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, who have played two Tests against England, feature in the Dharamsala Test then they will make it to the Grade C list.
A New Strategic Move in BCCI Central Contracts 2023-24
The selection committee has made a major change in the central contracts by introducing fast bowling contracts. This strategic move was undertaken to boost pace bowling. Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal, and Vidwath Kaverappa have been included in this new category
List of contracted players 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.
Also read, NZ vs AUS 1st Test, New Zealand vs Australia 1st Test
