BCCI releases annual contract list, Iyer and Kishan out; Rinku Singh gets a place

Mumbai: BCCI has released the annual contract list for the 2023-24 season. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are not included in the list. Both players did not participate in domestic cricket, which angered the board. The BCCI said in a statement that Iyer and Kishan have not been given annual contracts. Uttar Pradesh left-arm batsman Rinku Singh has been included in Grade C. Captain Rohit Sharma is in the A+ grade along with Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

The BCCI has awarded contracts to 30 players this year. It is for the period from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. The board has started a new tradition this time. It has also given separate fast bowling contracts. The list includes Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.

Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.

Grade B: Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, 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.

How much money do players get?

Players in Grade A+ get Rs 7 crore per year. Those in Grade A get Rs 5 crore and those in Grade B get Rs 3 crore. Players in the lowest Grade C get Rs 1 crore each.

What did the BCCI say in its statement?

Players who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of three Tests or eight ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis. For example, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan have played two Test matches so far. If they participate in the fifth Test of the ongoing series against England, they will be included in Grade C. The BCCI recommends that all athletes prioritize participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.”

10 new players in Grade C

Last time, 11 players were included in Grade C. This time the number has been increased to 15. 10 players have been included for the first time. These include Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar. Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh and KS Bharat have managed to retain their place in Grade C.