India: Shreyas Iyer levels up in BCCI contract list

Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel have all moved up to Grade B contracts in the latest changes to the BCCI’s central contracts list.
A total of 27 players have been handed annual central contracts by the BCCI.
India have slashed the number of Grade A contracts from 10 to five with allrounder Hardik Pandya and senior batter Shikhar Dhawan suffering the biggest slides.
Shreyas Iyer moves up as others drop down
Also demoted are Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara who seem to be nearing the twilight of their careers.
Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli remain in the top pay bracket as the three A+ contract holders.
The annual contracts – running from October 2021 to September 2022 – were ratified by the BCCI’s Apex Council this week.
Batter Suryakumar Yadav joins the ranks of the centrally contracted as the only newcomer.
Two players were cut from the central contract list with India set to reduce the amount it spends on player salaries. Kuldeep Yadav is in the current Test squad but his contract was not renewed, nor was that of pace bowler Navdeep Saini.
There are now a dozen players in the Grade C contract category for India while fast bowler Shardul Thakur remained on the Grade B level.
In the women’s contracts, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav have been joined by the likes of Deepti Sharma, and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad in the ‘Grade A’ category.
Long-serving veterans Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswanmi have retained their ‘Grade B’ slots. Meanwhile batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who was axed for India’s imminent World Cup campaign, has been dropped to the ‘Grade C’ category.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) latest contract list
‘A+’ contract – Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma.
‘A’ contract – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami.
‘B’ contract – Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma.
‘C’ contract – Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Yuzvendra Chahal, Wriddhiman Saha, Suryakumar Yadav, Mayank Agarwal.
Latest
-
News
‘Huge respect between two of us so no animosity’ – James Anderson on Joe Root
Anderson and Stuart Broad are set for England recalls on Wednesday, a couple of months after being jettisoned for the West Indies tour.
-
News
Tom Harrison stepping down as chief executive of the ECB
Managing director of women’s cricket Clare Connor will take over on an interim basis in June.
-
News
Tom Harrison steps down as ECB chief executive
Harrison has been in the post for the last seven years.
-
News
On this day in 2013 – James Anderson claims 300th Test wicket
Anderson dismissed New Zealand’s Peter Fulton to reach the landmark.
-
News
England quick Saqib Mahmood to miss rest of season with stress fracture of back
The Lancashire fast bowler would have been a certain inclusion in the squad to face New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2.
-
News
England change to continue with new limited-overs coach and revamped Test squad
Things have been moving quickly at the England and Wales Cricket Board with Rob Key.
-
News
On this day in 2010: England beat Australia for Twenty20 World Cup final glory
The Australians had been restricted to just 147 for six from their 20 overs.
-
News
James Anderson removes Joe Root for just four but Yorkshire thwart Lancashire
Harry Brook came to Yorkshire’s rescue to secure a Roses draw.
-
News
Andrew Symonds – the Queensland larrikin known as Roy with explosive batting
The former Australia all-rounder was killed in a car crash at the age of 46.
-
News
Tributes to an ‘extraordinary player and even better human being’ Andrew Symonds
Symonds died aged 46