BCCI central contracts: Double demotion for Pandya; Rahane, Pujara dropped to Grade B

The BCCI has demoted veteran Test batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in new central contracts; all-rounder Hardik Pandya too has been demoted from Grade A to Grade C.

Even as Team India gears up for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, the BCCI on Wednesday announced their annual central contracts in which veteran Test batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been demoted, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, among others.

Rahane and Pujara, who were recently dropped from the home series against Sri Lanka, have been demoted from Grade A to Grade B after the BCCI reviewed their yearly performance. Meanwhile, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who stirred controversy by accusing the Board of maintaining double standards following Test snub against the Lankans, was also dropped from his current Grade B to Grade C.

The most significant blow, although not surprising, came to Hardik Pandya, who was demoted from Grade A to Grade C. It is worth noting that the Board has not considered the all-rounder for selection since the abysmal T20 World Cup 2021. Apart from Pandya, Shikar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar have also faced demotions.

Meanwhile, some special promotions are Axar Patel and Mohammad Siraj from Grade C to Grade B. Shreyas Iyer has earned a Grade B contract. Team India captain Rohit Sharma, former captain Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah remain top of the pile, with Grade A+ contracts. Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Shami, and R Ashwin continue to be in Grade A.

Grade A+ is worth Rs 7 crore, while A, B and C are Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively.

New BCCI annual contract list:

Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant.
Grade B: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma.
Grade C: Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Mayank Agarwal and Deepak Chahar.