The BCCI has announced its annual player retainers from October 2022 to September 2023. There are several notable promotions and a new entry in the list of centrally contracted cricketers.
Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj and opener Shubman Gill have been upgraded from Grade C to Grade B following their strong performances over the past year. The enhanced contracts will earn INR 3 crore each, a bump from the INR 1 crore in Grade C.
Meanwhile, promising youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal has received his maiden call-up directly into Grade B. The 20-year-old batsman came through the ranks after excelling for the India U19s.
There were no other new inductees to the list of centrally contracted players. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and pacer Navdeep Saini have been demoted to Grade C from Grade B after their unconvincing form of late.
The Grades A+, A, B, and C feature retainers of INR 7 crore, 5 crore, 3 crore, and 1 crore, respectively. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah remain the three players in the elite A+ category.
Grade A comprises Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Test captain Rohit Sharma.
Meanwhile, Grade B features Siraj, Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and Deepak Chahar, along with senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The C category has Mayank Agarwal, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, and Navdeep Saini.
The demotion of Ishan Kishan and Navdeep Saini indicates that consistent performances will be required to retain higher retainer grades.
Young Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden Grade B call-up caps off a meteoric rise after landing a massive IPL deal with the Rajasthan Royals. With India’s openers’ slots up for grabs, Jaiswal will look to stake his claim during the home series against Australia.
The BCCI contract list indicates the core pool of India’s top performers, groomed and incentivized through monetary retainers. With the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup cycle underway, plenty of opportunities are up for grabs.
