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BCCI central contracts: Big-time demotion for Hardik Pandya

03 Mar 2022

BCCI annual contract list (as per reports)   Grade “A+” (worth Indian Rs. 7 crore/Sri Lankan Rs. 186.6 million) Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah Grade “A” (worth Indian Rs. 5 crore/Sri Lankan Rs. 133 million) Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Lokesh (KL) Rahul, Mohammed Shami, and Rishabh Pant Grade “B” (worth Indian Rs. 3 crore/Sri Lankan Rs. 79.9 million) Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, and Ishant Sharma Grade “C” (worth Indian Rs. 1 crore/Sri Lankan Rs. 26.6 million) 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 talking points
  • Hardik Pandya demoted to Grade “C”; Pujara, Rahane, Ishant demoted to Grade “B”
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, and Umesh Yadav dropped to Grade “C”
  • Wriddhiman Saha earns a Grade “C” deal despite retirement talk
  • Suryakumar Yadav earns his first central contract after impressive performance
  • No deals for Kuldeep Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, and Ishan Kishan
  • Rishabh Pant and Lokesh Rahul remain on the Grade “A” list
  • Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, and Axar Patel promoted to Grade “B”
 As expected, Hardik Pandya is the biggest loser in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contracts this time. The out-of-favour and out-of-fitness Pandya has been demoted from Grade “A” to Grade “C”, reported InsideSport yesterday (3). Other than Pandya, Test cricket veterans Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, and Ishant Sharma all have been demoted in the new contracts list. Change in pay structure Team India Captain Rohit Sharma, former Captain Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah remain at the top of the pile, with Grade “A+” contracts. Hardik Pandya who was in Grade “A” to date has dropped down to Grade “C”. Instead of Indian Rs. 5 crore (Sri Lanka Rs. 133 million) per annum, he will now just receive an Indian Rs. 1 crore (Sri Lanka Rs. 26.6 million) retainer from the board. As per The PTI, Pujara and Rahane have seen their contracts demoted with the BCCI bringing in changes to the pay structure of the Indian cricket team. Saha given Grade “C” contract Pujara and Rahane were both in the Grade “A” slab (worth Indian 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. Hardik Pandya, another Grade “A” member, has seen his stocks fall massively over the past two seasons. The all-rounder hasn’t played for India since the T20 World Cup late last year and questions remain regarding his fitness. Meanwhile, Saha, who was asked to retire by Coach Rahul Dravid, has been handed a Grade “C” contract as well. Other players 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 featured newcomer Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Umesh Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav did not find any favours and was not offered a contract.


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