BCCI Central Contract: Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hardik Pandya demoted – The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have made a massive hint at the future as they announce their annual central contracts for Team India stars. Test veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who were recently dropped from the squad for the Sri Lanka series, have seen their contracts demoted from Grade A to B, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s unavailability since the T20 World Cup has seen him being demoted top Grade C. Team India captain Rohit Sharma, former captain Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah remain top of the pile, with Grade A+ contracts. Follow Insidesport.In for all Indian cricket updates.
BCCI Central Contracts: Big time demotion for Hardik Pandya to Grade C, Pujara and Rahane to Grade B
As per PTI, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have seen their contracts demoted with the BCCI bringing in changes to the pay structure of the Indian cricket team. Pujara and Rahane were both in the Grade A slab (worth Rs 5 crore) but have now been placed in the Grade B bracket, following their lacklustre performances over the last few seasons, and their recent sacking from the Test squad.
#JUSTIN #AjinkyaRahane #CheteshwarPujara #HardikPandya #BCCI @ajinkyarahane88 and @cheteshwar1 dropped from Grade A to B in latest @BCCI central contracts; @hardikpandya7 demoted from Grade A to C: PTI pic.twitter.com/lzQEEOAUZG
— TOI Sports (@toisports) March 2, 2022
BCCI Central contracts talking points
- Hardik Pandya demoted to C; Pujara, Rahane, Ishant demoted to B
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav dropped to Grade C
- Wriddhiman Saha earns a Grade C deal despite retirement talk
- Suryakumar Yadav earns his first cental contract after impressive performance
- No deals for Kuldeep Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan
- Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul remain on the Grade A list
- Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel promoted to Grade B
Hardik Pandya, another Grade A member, has seen his stocks fall massively over the past two seasons, and was handed a Grade C contract (worth Rs 1 crore). The all-rounder hasn’t played for India since the T20 World Cup and questions remain on his fitness. Meanwhile, Wriddhiman Saha, who was asked to retire by coach Rahul Dravid, has been handed a Grade C contract as well.
The BCCI has four categories – A+ which has annual remuneration of Rs 7 crore while A, B and C categories are valued at Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively. Team India captain Rohit Sharma, former captain Virat Kohli and ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah retain their places in the Grade A+ bracket and will bag a whopping Rs 7 crore from their deals. BCCI sources told TOI that the team management and selectors are keen on investing heavily in the next generation of players.
BCCI Central Contracts: Big time demotion for Hardik Pandya to Grade C, Pujara and Rahane to Grade B
White-ball vice-captain KL Rahul has been retained in the Grade A list, alongside multi-format regulars Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant. Notably, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan were demoted to Grade C, while Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer earned Grade B deals.
Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Washington Sundar and Mayank Agarwal headlined the Grade C bracket, which also features newcomer Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Umesh Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav did not find any favours and was not offered a contract.
BCCI annual contract list as per reports
- Grade A+ (worth Rs 7 crore)
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
- Grade A (worth Rs 5 crore)
Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant.
- Grade B (worth Rs 3 crore)
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma.
- Grade C (worth Rs 1 crore)
Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Mayank Agarwal and Deepak Chahar.
BCCI Central Contracts: Big time demotion for Hardik Pandya to Grade C, Pujara and Rahane to Grade B
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