BCCI contracts: Hardik Pandya set for demotion to Grade C

Hardik will be demoted from Grade A to Grade C. © BCCI
Hardik Pandya has suffered a major downgrading in the Central Contracts to be issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the coming days. Among the 27 players who are going to be awarded contracts for the 2021-22 season, the BCCI has placed Pandya, once considered one of the most valuable players in Indian cricket, in Grade C. Opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been identically downgraded from Grade A to Grade C.

Dhawan's C grade, it has been explained by those who are privy to the development, is apparently because he plays only one format - the ODIs. But no explanation was forthcoming on Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant, who continue to be in A list.

Both are automatic choices for all three formats and are proven match-winners. However, there is no promotion for them this time around and the two will be entitled for annual retainership of Rs 5 crore along with three others - KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammad Shami.

Jadeja, in fact, was once a subject of debate for his second grade with many viewing that he deserved to be in the A+ category. However, it is not to be for this year. The list is helmed by the unchanged trio of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, all three not so surprisingly retaining their A+ status, which guarantees them an annual retainership of Rs 7 crore.

The list, finalized by a virtual meeting of the BCCI Apex Council on Wednesday (March 2), sees a surprise promotion for Axar Patel, who is in Grade B and expected demotion for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have also been placed in Grade B. The two veterans, who formed the fulcrum of the Indian Test middle order not too long, are no longer part of the five-day side and not so surprisingly, have come down the pecking order.

There has been a serious debate over the futures of Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha recently but both have been awarded contracts, in albeit different grades. While the Delhi pacer finds his name in B category, the Bengal wicketkeeper, who was recently in an off-field controversy, has been pushed to Grade C.

Ishant's future with the Indian team is considered uncertain and over the last one year, he has been playing for India rather sporadically, either due to injury or because of poor form. Mohammed Siraj, who has come up the ranks in recent times, has been promoted from Grade C to B.

Central Contracts

Grade A+ (Rs 7 crore)

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah

Grade A (Rs 5 crore)

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant

Grade B (Rs 3 crore)

Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma

Grade C (Rs 1 crore)

Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Mayank Agarwal