BCCI Contracts: Ravindra Jadeja Promoted To A+ Category With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma And Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul Demoted

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been added to the BCCI's 'A+' category in annual contract but KL Rahul has been demoted while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been considered for a contract.

Source: Twitter

Team India and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has made a sensational comeback from injury, which forced him to miss the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Jadeja was ‘Player of the Match’ in the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia and was instrumental in Rohit Sharma’s side clinching the series 2-1 to qualify for the World Test Championships Final. Jadeja has been rewarded for his consistent performances by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the annual retainership contracts announced on Sunday (March 26) night, elevated to the A+ category – Rs 7 crore contract – which was only occupied by Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.

Another all-rounder Axar Patel was also promoted in the BCCI retainership with Axar Patel moving up to the ‘A’ category – Rs 5 crore contract. Team India opener and Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul got demoted to Grade ‘B’ – Rs 3 crore contact – after a string of poor performances.

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma didn’t get a contract as BCCI handed retainership to 26 cricketers in four groups of A plus (Rs 7 crore), A (Rs 5 crore), B (Rs 3 crore) and C (Rs 1 crore). It seems curtains for the experienced trio, who have been dropped from the contract list, signalling that they are no longer in the reckoning for the national team.

Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar had plenty to be happy about as he was promoted to A category, while wicketkeeper batter KS Bharat also landed a maiden central contract after being included in Group ‘C’.

Team India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who is recovering after undergoing treatment for his injuries following a horror crash in December last year, remains in ‘A’ category, which also includes Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami. There were six cricketers in Group B, including Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar yadav and Shubman Gill.

The Group C comprises 11 cricketers – Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, besides Bharat.

The elite ‘A plus’ category has players who are a sure shot candidate for all three formats, while ‘A’ comprises cricketers who are certainties for Tests and one-dayers. Players who are considered for limited-over cricket are in Group B, while C group players are generally considered for one of the three formats regularly.

NEWS _- BCCI announces annual player retainership 2022-23 - Team India (Senior Men).

More details here - https://t.co/kjK4KxoDdK #TeamIndia — BCCI (@BCCI) March 26, 2023

Here are the BCCI Contracts for 2022-23 season…

A+ category: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja

A category: Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel

B category: Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill

C category: Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat