Officially, the call on T20I captaincy is not on the 12-point agenda for the December 21 BCCI Apex Council meeting but whispers of Hardik’s elevation as the next T20I skipper are loud
The BCCI annual player contracts 2022-23 are all set to be revealed and promotion is very much on the cards for Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. While the all-rounder is the frontrunner to succeed Rohit Sharma as India’s next T20I captain, India’s very own Mr 360 has dominated the T20 format this year, and how. Surya has been very consistent in the shortest format, has already broken into the ODI setup, and is now awaiting the inevitable Test call. Surya is currently in Grade C of the contracts.
A likely double promotion for Hardik could well be the case as he will be steering the T20I ship in the near future and is one of the most important figures in India’s white-ball set-up at the moment. The 29-year-old is currently in the Grade C bracket.
2023 and 2024 are very important white-ball years for the Indian cricket team with the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and then the T20 World Cup in 2024. Plenty of senior pros are expected to not feature in the 2024 T20 WC, and a roadmap for the young brigade under Hardik is already being put in place.
Officially, the call on T20I captaincy is not on the 12-point agenda for the December 21 BCCI Apex Council meeting but whispers of Hardik’s elevation as the next T20I skipper are loud and it’s a matter of time before he takes over and charts the way forward for Indian cricket team in the shortest format.
Promotions, demotions and inclusions
Another strong performer to break into the Grade A category could be Axar Patel who has been playing the three formats for India consistently, and doing the job effectively in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence.
Shubman Gill too has been very impressive in his Test and ODI outings recently and the elegant opener is set for a promotion to, if not A, Grade B. Palghar Express Shardul Thakur has faded away from the Test and T20I set-up and is likely to be demoted to Grade C category.
After regaining his mojo, and recently staging a successful return to Test cricket, Kuldeep Yadav could well see himself back with a central contract in the Grade C category. Aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan looks like the frontrunner to break into the Grade C category – which could also see the addition of all-rounder Deepak Hooda.
Holding on
The likes of Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneswar Kumar, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Deepak Chahar are likely to hold on to their Grade C contract. While Umesh is part of the Test set-up, Yuzi, Chahar, Sundar & Dhawan are the white-ball specialists.
Dhawan now only plays the ODIS, even led the ODI team on quite a few occasions in absence of the regulars, and last season saw Bhuvi feature mostly in the T20Is.
Set to lose contracts
Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari and Wriddhiman Saha are all but certain to lose their central contract. While Ishant, Rahane and Saha are well and truly out of the Test set-up, the road back is an extremely tough and competitive one for both Agarwal and Vihari.
Rahane, Ishant, Vihari and Saha were the Test specialists and Mayank, who did feature in few ODIs, is unlikely to stage a white-ball return in the near future.
2021-22 player contracts:
Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Grade A: R Ashwin, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant
Grade B: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma
Grade C: Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hanuma Vihari, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Mayank Agarwal
The Grade A+ players receive Rs 7 crore, Grade A get Rs 5 crore, Grade B get Rs 3 crore and Grade C players get Rs 1 crore each. The players continue to get the regular match fee, which is not included in this amount.
