Gill, Axar and Siraj are new entrants, while Hardik Pandya and Thakur have earned promotions
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are no longer key players in India’s white-ball teams
Wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were a crucial part of India’s white-ball plans in the lead-up to the 50-over World Cup in 2019, have suffered demotions in the BCCI’s list of centrally contracted players for the October 2020 to September 2021 period.
Kuldeep was among the core group of Grade A players in the 2019-20 contracts list, while Chahal featured in Grade B. Both have now dropped down to Grade C.
A spate of injuries has also led to a demotion for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade A to B), while Hardik Pandya (B to A) and Shardul Thakur (C to B) have earned promotions in the new contracts list.
Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj, who made impressive Test debuts during the 2020-21 season when India overcame an injury crisis to beat Australia 2-1 away and England 3-1 at home, all entered the contracts list as Grade C players.
Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey, who have lost their place in India’s white-ball squads over recent months, have dropped out of the contracts list.
India captain Virat Kohli, white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma and fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah remain the only three players in the Grade A+ category. Apart from Pandya, the Grade A players include wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, fast bowler Mohammed Shami, Test specialists R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, and white-ball openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul.
There is no change in the pay structure for the players, with the Grade A+ players earning INR 7 crore per year, Grade A earning INR 5 crore, Grade B INR 3 crore, and Grade C INR 1 crore.
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 6 an over. Kuldeep has only played three T20Is since the World Cup, meanwhile, 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.
BCCI contracts list for 2020-21
A+ Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
A R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya
B Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Agarwal
C Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari , Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj
Source: ESPN Crickinfo