On Wednesday, February 28, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the complete list of the central contracts for the 2023-24 season (October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024).
A total of 30 players were handed the BCCI central contracts out of which 4 – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja – were given Grade A+ contracts worth INR 7 Cr.
However, the biggest talking point coming out of the announcement was the exclusion of star batters Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the list. The batters were reportedly not given contracts because they ignored BCCI’s directives to participate in first-class cricket.
Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, asked for a personal break during the South Africa tour in December 2023 and since then he was out of action until very recently. He didn’t feature in any of the Ranji Trophy matches despite BCCI’s warning and recently returned to competitive cricket in the DY Patil T20 Cup.
“Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in an official media release.
The BCCI also gave a strict message to the players to participate in domestic cricket when they are not representing India National Cricket Team and are not injured.
“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 BCCI added.
Complete details of promotions, demotions, new additions, exclusions in BCCI central contracts
The players who have got a promotion for the 2023-24 season are KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Mohammed Siraj as they have been elevated from Grade B to Grade A while Kuldeep Yadav has moved from Grade C to B.
The spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant were the two players who got demoted. They have moved from Grade A to Grade B. Notably, the demotion of Pant was on the cards as he has not featured in any matches for India National Cricket Team since his horrible road accident in 2022.
Talking about the new inclusions, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar have got their first-ever BCCI central contract. Out of the aforementioned players, only Yashasvi Jaiswal has earned a Grade B contract while the rest of the players have been handed Grade C contracts.
Finally, the players who were left out are Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Deepak Hooda and Yuzvendra Chahal. The reason behind Kishan and Iyer’s inclusion is the indiscipline while the rest of the players are no longer part of India’s scheme of things.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has also announced that the players who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis. This means the likes of Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, who are currently featuring in the five-match home Test series against England, will get contracts after they participate in the 5th and final Test of the series.
Complete list of players promoted, demoted, added and excluded:
Players promoted:
KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill (Grade B to A); Kuldeep Yadav (Grade C to B)
Players demoted:
Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant (Grade A to B).
Newly added players:
Yashasvi Jaiswal (Grade B), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar (Grade C).
Players omitted:
Shreyas Iyer (Grade B); Ishan Kishan, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal (Grade C).
Complete BCCI Central Contract List:
Grade A+ (4 Athletes – 7 cr)
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade A (6 Athletes – 5 cr)
R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Grade B (5 Athletes – 3 cr)
Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C (15 Athletes – 1 cr)
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.
