The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the central contracts for Men’s cricketers for the 2020-21 season. The new contract period starts from October 2020 and will go until September 2021. A total of 28 Indian cricketers have received contracts with Shubman Gill and Axar Patel being the newest additions from the last season. The youngster made his Test debut on the Australia tour in December last year and performed well.
India captain Virat Kohli, white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma and fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah remain the only three players in the Grade A+ category. The Grade A players include Hardik Pandya, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, fast bowler Mohammed Shami, Test specialists R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, and white-ball openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul.
A spate of injuries has also led to a demotion for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade A to B), while Hardik Pandya (B to A) and Shardul Thakur (C to B) have earned promotions in the new contracts list.
The payment structures have remained the same compared to the last season with the players divided into four categories – A+, A, B, and C. The players in the top category (A+) are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah who will earn Rs 70 million for the said period. The cricketers involved in the grades A, B and C will be paid INR 50 million, 30 million and 10 million respectively.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar who only made his comeback to competitive cricket in the T20I series against England has also been demoted to Grade B mostly due to the lack of cricket he played. He got injured at the start of the IPL last season and was ruled out of the action for almost six months. Another wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has also been demoted from Grade B to C despite playing most of the matches in the limited-overs format.
Kedar Jadhav has not received a central contract after being part of Grade C last season. He was dropped from the team last year following not so good performances and is unlikely to make a comeback in any of the limited-overs formats now.
Wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were a crucial part of India's white-ball plans in the lead-up to the 50-over World Cup in 2019, have suffered demotions in the BCCI's list of centrally contracted men's players for the October 2020 to September 2021 period.
Kuldeep was among the core group of Grade A players in the 2019-20 contracts list, while Chahal featured in Grade B. Both have now dropped down to Grade C.
A spate of injuries has also led to a demotion for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade A to B), while Hardik Pandya (B to A) and Shardul Thakur (C to B) have earned promotions in the new contracts list.
Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj, who made impressive Test debuts during the 2020-21 season when India overcame an injury crisis to beat Australia 2-1 away and England 3-1 at home, all entered the contracts list as Grade C players. Patel returns to the contracts list for the first time since 2017-18, when he was a Grade C player, while Gill and Siraj have been contracted for the first time.
India captain Virat Kohli, white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma and fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah remain the only three players in the Grade A+ category. The Grade A players include Hardik Pandya, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, fast bowler Mohammed Shami, Test specialists R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, and white-ball openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul.
A spate of injuries has also led to a demotion for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade A to B), while Hardik Pandya (B to A) and Shardul Thakur (C to B) have earned promotions in the new contracts list.
The payment structures have remained the same compared to the last season with the players divided into four categories – A+, A, B, and C. The players in the top category (A+) are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah who will earn Rs 70 million for the said period. The cricketers involved in the grades A, B and C will be paid INR 50 million, 30 million and 10 million respectively.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar who only made his comeback to competitive cricket in the T20I series against England has also been demoted to Grade B mostly due to the lack of cricket he played. He got injured at the start of the IPL last season and was ruled out of the action for almost six months. Another wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has also been demoted from Grade B to C despite playing most of the matches in the limited-overs format.
Kedar Jadhav has not received a central contract after being part of Grade C last season. He was dropped from the team last year following not so good performances and is unlikely to make a comeback in any of the limited-overs formats now.
Wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were a crucial part of India's white-ball plans in the lead-up to the 50-over World Cup in 2019, have suffered demotions in the BCCI's list of centrally contracted men's players for the October 2020 to September 2021 period.
Kuldeep was among the core group of Grade A players in the 2019-20 contracts list, while Chahal featured in Grade B. Both have now dropped down to Grade C.
A spate of injuries has also led to a demotion for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade A to B), while Hardik Pandya (B to A) and Shardul Thakur (C to B) have earned promotions in the new contracts list.
Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj, who made impressive Test debuts during the 2020-21 season when India overcame an injury crisis to beat Australia 2-1 away and England 3-1 at home, all entered the contracts list as Grade C players. Patel returns to the contracts list for the first time since 2017-18, when he was a Grade C player, while Gill and Siraj have been contracted for the first time.
