While both Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were kept out of the BCCI central contract list on Wednesday, they continue to be part of their Indian Premier League franchises, for whom they are star performers.
They were retained by their respective teams before the auction, which shows that they are integral to the plans.
IPL contracts for elite players are very lucrative, but missing out on a BCCI contract is a financial, as well as cricketing, setback.
If they are unable to play for the country, it denies them the chance to be in the spotlight. The IPL is held for only two months a year, and domestic cricket, though central to the development of players, doesn’t attract as many eyeballs.
It also provides a chance to other contenders to stake their claim and cement their spots in place of Iyer and Ishan. With the sort of competition for places in the Indian team, out of sight can often mean out of mind. With their omission from the contract list presumably a result of recommendation by the selection panel, the two players will most likely have to do something special in whatever cricket they play to put their names back in the reckoning.
There are other areas also where Iyer and Ishan may miss out. A centrally-contracted player can make use of BCCI facilities, including the National Cricket Academy, as and when they want. This is significant when a cricketer is injured, out of the team or simply wants to work on his game or fitness. Those not among the elite group will have to go through their respective state units to avail the NCA facilities.
A contracted player also has a comprehensive insurance cover. So if he misses out on the IPL due to an injury suffered while playing for India, as has been the case with Mohammed Shami after his stellar performance in the 50-over World Cup, they will be compensated for the financial loss. The medical expenses too will be taken care of by the board.
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.
Non-inclusion in the central contract pool impacts a cricketer's earnings. While those with contracts have a fixed annual retainer based on the Grade they fall in, the others only get match fees for their international outings. 
Share
