How missing Ranji Trophy games resulted in Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan being dropped from BCCI’s central contract list

It is understood that the call to drop both the players, who were integral part of the Indian team across all formats in 2023, was taken by the secretary after the selectors recommended so.

Missing out on the central contract is significant for the both with the T20 World Cup to be played in three months’ time. It is understood that the chances of the two making the cut for the event in the US and the Caribbean is bleak and could potentially have an impact on their immediate future with the national team.

The contract snub comes at a crucial juncture for both the players, who were very much part of India’s scheme of things, especially in white-ball cricket.

The Indian Express understands that even if Shreyas and Ishan return to the team later this year and fulfill the pro-rata criteria (minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the contract cycle), they won’t be considered for a contract. Instead, they would be paid only the match fee depending upon the format.

Additionally, athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis.

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— BCCI (@BCCI) February 28, 2024

Though both the players are expected to feature in the IPL, it is understood that both would be considered for national selection only when they feature in domestic cricket. “Ishan was granted a break that he sought. But he hasn’t reported to the NCA or the state unit, but continues to train alone. Under the circumstances, there was no chance for the BCCI to offer a central contract. Similarly with Shreyas, we went by the medical reports. The door is still open for them provided they play domestic cricket regularly,” sources in the know told this paper.

Shreyas in particular had a good outing at the World Cup in October-November, where he scored 468 runs, including two centuries and three fifties and was one of the stars. Though he was struggling in Tests, he was given a long rope, before being dropped mid-way through the ongoing series against England.

As reported by this newspaper, though Shreyas reasoned back and groin pain for missing out on Ranji matches for Mumbai, the BCCI’s medical team headed by Nitin Patel — the head of sports science at the National Cricket Academy — found no issues with his fitness. The middle-order batsman has been included in Mumbai’s squad for the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu beginning on Saturday.

With regards to Ishan, there has been displeasure in the way he has gone about his break. Citing personal reasons, Ishan had asked for a break during the South Africa tour.

While he was granted rest for the Test tour, sources close to the player revealed that he was unhappy about being constantly benched across formats. And since January, the wicketkeeper batsman has been training with Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya at Vadodara and has missed the entire Ranji campaign for Jharkhand.

India’s position on Ishan hasn’t changed with head coach Rahul Dravid clearly stating that for the player to be considered for selection, he has to play domestic cricket.

Other than this, there were hardly any surprises in the list.

Kohli in Grade A+

Virat Kohli, who has been unavailable for selection because of personal reasons, has been retained in Grade A+, which shows the full backing of the BCCI and the selectors. In total 30 players have been offered central contracts in four categories. There are four in Grade A+, which offers Rs 7 crore, six players in Grade A (Rs 5 crore), five players in Grade B (Rs 3 crore) and 15 in Grade C that fetches Rs 1 crore.

Rishabh Pant, who missed out on international cricket because of a car accident, has been moved from Grade A to Grade B. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, Rinku Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube are also included in the list with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane missing out after being dropped from the Test team.

The Grade A++ continues to be the top tier in the contract list and includes only four players. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, who are part of all three formats remain in the top pay bracket.

Grade A has six players in the list, as against the five who were part of the previous cycle. Apart from R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya, the three new entrants in the list are KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill. All three were in Grade B the previous season.

Suryakumar Yadav continues to remain in Grade B as he couldn’t make impressive returns in 50-over cricket. Other than him, the rest four are new to the category and they are Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Yadav and Axar Patel. Among them, Axar has been demoted from Grade A to Grade B.

List of contracted players:

Grade A+ (Rs 7 Crore): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

Grade A (Rs 5 crore): R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.

Grade B (Rs 3 crore): Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Grade C (Rs 1 crore): Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, 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.

Fast bowling contracts: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.