The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Annual Player Contracts list for 2023-2024, revealing notable exclusions of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer.
The BCCI stated, “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.”
In the previous retainer, Shreyas Iyer held a Grade B contract, while Ishan Kishan was part of Grade C. However, their omission from this year’s central contracts marks a significant development.
The elite bracket, Grade A+, retains its composition with captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja as the top earners. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, and Hardik Pandya maintain their Grade A contracts. KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Shubman Gill have moved up to Grade A from Grade B last year.
Suryakumar Yadav, the No.1 ranked T20I batter, is part of Grade B, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who secures his first BCCI central contract. Suryakumar Yadav showcased his batting prowess, finishing the India innings in style in recent matches.
Members of India’s T20I squad, including Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, and Jitesh Sharma, have been awarded Grade C contracts. Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan could potentially join the Grade C category if they feature in the final Test against England in Dharamsala. The Grade C criteria require players to participate in a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period.
Currently, both Jurel and Sarfaraz have played two Test matches each, and if they participate in the upcoming fifth Test, they would meet the eligibility criteria for their maiden BCCI contracts.
In a notable move, five pacers – Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal, and Vidwath Kaverappa – have been recommended for Fast Bowling contracts by the Selection Committee.
The detailed contract categorization for 2023-2024 is as follows:
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
