The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a lengthy list of players who have been awarded the “Central Contract’ for the 2022–23 season.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries, as he is given the A+ contract for his superb performance in the recently concluded series against Australia.
KL Rahul has been demoted from category A to category B. But several players have been left off the list, like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Deepak Chahar, and Hanuma Vihari have not been included in the contract list.
Deepak Chahar is replete with talent, and he is still considered a top talent, but injury has prevented him from taking part in international matches on a regular basis.
Hanuma Vihari, who was a regular member of the Test squad, has been left off the list.
Axar Patel is promoted to category A, and Rishabh Pant, who had an accident last year, will remain in category A. Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami have earned their places in category A.
Deepak Hooda, KS Bharat, and Arshdeep Singh have done well in international cricket, and all three have been included in the Grade C category. Surprisingly, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan is also included in this category.
The southpaw has played only ODIs for India in recent times, and it seems that young Shubman Gill has taken his place. In fact, the BCCI has shown faith in Dhawan and kept him in the Grade C category.