Indian Cricket: Biggest gainers and losers from latest central contracts list

It was a huge day for Team India’s players as they got to know their fate in the central contract list. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were omitted from the list that was announced on Wednesday. The two players haven’t been considered for selection in the last few months. 

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As expected Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been omitted from the list. Reports were doing the rounds that the duo could be excluded from the new contract system. Both the players have gone against the board by not playing domestic cricket despite repeated requests. 

Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul have been the biggest gainers getting a hefty new contract. As far as the biggest losers go Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel find themselves facing demotion in the new list. 

Indian trio make massive gains in new central contract

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After an excellent 2023-24 season the players from the Indian Cricket Team have been rewarded handsomely. Three new stars have made it to the Grade A pay scale for the coming season. The three players are Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul who have been bumped up to the Grade A Category. 

Massive gainers

Mohammed Siraj had a dream year with the ball where he became one of the leading bowlers. His spell of 6/21 in the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka helped India win yet another title. 

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Shubman Gill was the leading scorer in the ODI format with over 1200 runs. The right-handed batter also scored his maiden ODI double-century during an ODI against New Zealand. 

KL Rahul too has been rewarded for his consistency across each format of the game. Kuldeep Yadav too has been upgraded from Grade C to Grade B after his amazing displays last year. 

Massive Losers

Rishabh Pant has dropped down to category B after missing the entire 2023 season. The 26-year-old was getting back to fitness after suffering an accident towards the end of 2022. All-rounder Axar Patel too has been dropped down to Category B after his inconsistent performances last year. The 30-year-old didn’t exactly set the world on fire during the recent Test series against England. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal gets a huge deal

The latest sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal has been given the Grade B contract. The 22-year-old has left some of the leading batters behind with his swashbuckling performances. Jaiswal has scored two successive double-centuries in the recent matches against England. 

New Entrants make the list

As many as ten stars have been added to the contract list in the Grade C category. Amongst the batters, the names included are Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Despite his woeful recent form, even Rajat Patidar makes it to the list. Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma have also been added thanks to their latest exploits. 

Amongst the fast bowlers, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, and spinner Ravi Bishnoi have been included. Each of the players added to the Grade C will be part and parcel of the Indian team for the coming season. 

Surprise Inclusion

KS Bharat is the only name that is a huge surprise in the contact list. The 30-year-old hasn’t lived up to expectations since his debut for India. After failing with the bat in the first two Tests of the series, Bharat was dropped in favour of Dhruv Jurel. It is slightly surprising that KS Bharat was retained by the selectors in the latest list. 

Final lists

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

Grade A – R Ashwin, M Shami, M Siraj, S Gill, KL Rahul, and H Pandya.

Grade B – S Yadav, R Pant, K Yadav, A Patel, and YB Jaiswal.

Grade C – R Singh, T Varma, R Gaikwad, S Thakur, S Dube, R Bishnoi, J Sharma, W Sundar, M Kumar, S Samson, A Singh, KS Bharat, P Krishna, A Khan, and R Patidar. 

Not retained – C Pujara, A Rahane, S Iyer, I Kishan, U Yadav, S Dhawan, D Hooda, and Y Chahal