'It's clear their performance hasn't been good' - Saba Karim on possibility of Pujara, Rahane facing annual contract demotion

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been below-average for quite a while now and it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that they have been a liability for the Indian team in the longest format of the game.

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While Rahane scored just 136 runs at an average of 22.67 in the three-match Test series against South Africa, Pujara scored 126 runs at an average of 20.67 in the same series. Thus, due to their inconsistent performances, several reports have suggested that they are all set to be demoted whenever the BCCI releases a fresh list of contracted players for the upcoming season. It is to be noted that the board has four categories (A+, A, B and C) that carry annual retainership of ₹7 crore, ₹5 crore, ₹3 crore and ₹1 crore respectively.

Thus, the former BCCI selector Saba Karim was of the opinion that their demotion will just be a reflection of their performances in the last 12 months. However, he addressed the positive part of them being demoted, and said that they will still have a contract.

The expectations from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have gone down slightly: Saba Karim

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"This does two things from the BCCI's side. You are promoted as an appreciation if you have done well last year or you are demoted if the selectors feel you have not performed. If we keep these criteria, it's clear their performance has not been good last year," said Saba Karim on India News.

"The expectations from them have gone down slightly and that is why we are talking about this demotion. But I feel this is also a silver lining for these players. If they are in Grade C, it means the selectors might still think about them in the coming year. It's not that they have been totally sidelined," he added.

In the meanwhile, he also spoke about the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant getting a promotion. He felt that the all-rounder was certainly going to get into the A+ category. However, he also stated that a few other players might end up getting a promotion as well.

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"I feel A+ is a very exclusive club. Here I feel we are missing one player, that is Jadeja. Along with him, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are also there. But maybe this year only Jadeja might get an entry in A+ and Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul might be in Grade A. Other than that, I feel players like Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Deepak Chahar should be given a promotion," he said.