The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced the annual central contract players list for the period stretching from October 2020 to September 2021.
India skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah have been retained in the A+ category and will receive Rs 7 crore annually.
The BCCI, like last year, has divided players into four grades, with most of the Test specialists like Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravindra Jadeja finding a place in Grade A with a retainership amount of Rs 5 crore.
The payment structures are as under:
| Period | Grade A + | Grade A | Grade B | Grade C |
| Oct 2020 to Sept 2021 | INR 7 Cr | INR 5 Cr | INR 3 Cr | INR 1 Cr |
Central Contract Players List (October 2020 to September 2021)
| Grade | S.No. | Athletes |
|
A+
|
1 | Mr. Virat Kohli |
| 2 | Mr. Rohit Sharma | |
| 3 |
Mr. Jasprit Bumrah
|
| Grade | S.No. | Athletes |
|
A
|
1 | |
| 2 |
Mr. Ravindra Jadeja
|
|
| 3 |
Mr. Cheteshwar Pujara
|
|
| 4 |
Mr. Ajinkya Rahane
|
|
| 5 |
Mr. Shikhar Dhawan
|
|
| 6 | Mr. K L Rahul | |
| 7 | Mr. Mohd. Shami | |
| 8 |
Mr. Ishant Sharma
|
|
| 9 | Mr. Rishabh Pant | |
| 10 |
Mr. Hardik Pandya
|
| Grade | S.No. | Athletes |
|
B
|
1 |
Mr. Wriddhiman Saha
|
| 2 | Mr. Umesh Yadav | |
| 3 |
Mr. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
|
|
| 4 |
Mr. Shardul Thakur
|
|
| 5 |
Mr. Mayank Agarwal
|
| Grade | S.No. | Athletes |
|
C
|
1 |
Mr. Kuldeep Yadav
|
| 2 | Mr. Navdeep Saini | |
| 3 |
Mr. Deepak Chahar
|
|
| 4 | Mr. Shubman Gill | |
| 5 |
Mr. Hanuma Vihari
|
|
| 6 | Mr. Axar Patel | |
| 7 | Mr. Shreyas Iyer | |
| 8 |
Mr. Washington Sundar
|
|
| 9 |
Mr. Yuzvendra Chahal
|
|
| 10 | Mr. Mohammad Siraj |
Changes in the Contact
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been placed in the fourth and final category, while the likes of Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav have dropped altogether from the central contract list.
The demotions of Kuldeep and Chahal coincide with fallow periods in both players’ careers. Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Chahal averages 37.12 in ODIs and Kuldeep a worrying 58.41, with both returning economy rates north of six an over.
Kuldeep has played only three T20Is since the World Cup, while Chahal has only picked up 16 wickets in 17 games while conceding 9.13 runs per over.
Kuldeep’s Test-match stocks have fallen away too. Talked up by India coach Ravi Shastri as their No. 1 overseas spinner in Test cricket after the 2018-19 tour of Australia, he has only played one Test match since.
