Rahane and Ishant Sharma among players to be dropped from BCCI annual contract

Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill have a good chance of being elevated to the BCCI’s central contract list after a streak of consistent performances according to a report by PTI. Suryakumar, the current No. 1 T20 International (T20I) batter, could go from category C to B, as could Gill. Surya, who made his T20I debut against England in March of last year, is the format’s highest run-scorer in 2022. In 31 innings, he has hit 1,164 runs at a strike rate of more than 187, including nine fifties and two centuries.

Gill is also considered one of the front-runners to replace Shikhar Dhawan in the ODI squad, having scored 638 runs in the format this year at a strike rate of 102.6. For instance, Dhawan has scored 50 more runs than Gill this year while maintaining a considerably lower average (34.4) and strike rate (74.2). According to the same report, in addition to Gill and Surya, India’s most recent ODI double centurion Ishan Kishan may obtain a BCCI contract for the first time. Hardik Pandya, a potential future T20I captain, might potentially be promoted from Group C to Group B.

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Rahane and Ishant set to be dropped

According to the source, senior cricketers such as Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, and Wriddhiman Saha, who are no longer in contention for a spot in the national team, may miss out. Rahane and Ishant were both in Grade A on the BCCI’s central contract list, while Saha was in Grade B. Only Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah are currently in the A+ category and earn INR 7 crore per year. A, B, and C are each worth INR 5 crore, INR 3 crore, and INR 1 crore. The list will be finalised during BCCI’s Apex Council meeting on December 21, which will be held through video conferencing.