The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the 30-member list of centrally contracted players for the upcoming season.
The exclusion comes as a surprise, particularly for Shreyas Iyer, who was part of the Grade B list last season, and Ishan Kishan, who held a Grade C contract.
The BCCI, in its media release, clarified that Iyer and Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.
The board emphasised the importance of players prioritising participation in domestic cricket when not representing the national team.
On the other side, the BCCI has made several changes and elevations in the central contracts. KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Mohammed Siraj have been promoted to the Grade A category, highlighting their consistent performances and growing stature in Indian cricket.
Rishabh Pant, who missed a significant part of the previous season due to a road accident, finds himself in Grade B this time. The Grade A+ category continues to feature stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Among other changes, Axar Patel, who was in Grade A last season, has been moved to Grade B. Kuldeep Yadav has been promoted from Grade C to B, and Yashasvi Jaiswal has been included in Grade B as well.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who was in Grade B last season, has not been offered a contract this time. The Grade C category sees an increase in the number of players, with 15 players included, including 10 new faces.
The contracts for the 2023-24 season will be applicable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Players who meet the minimum criteria for Test, ODI, or T20I matches within this period will be included in the Grade C category on a pro-rata basis.
List of contracted players for 2023-24:
Here is the list of contracted players for the 2023-24 season as per the BCCI announcement:
Grade A+:
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Ravindra Jadeja
Grade A:
- R Ashwin
- Mohd. Shami
- Mohd. Siraj
- KL Rahul
- Shubman Gill
- Hardik Pandya
Grade B:
- Surya Kumar Yadav
- Rishabh Pant
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Axar Patel
- 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
- Rajat Patidar
Fast Bowling Contracts:
- Akash Deep
- Vijaykumar Vyshak
- Umran Malik
- Yash Dayal
- Vidwath Kaverappa
Overall, the BCCI’s decision reflects its strategy to recognize and reward consistent performers while providing opportunities for new talents to emerge and excel in the Indian cricketing landscape.
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