The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released a new central contract list for the 2023-24 season. Ishan Kishan, the left-handed opener, and top-order batter Shreyas Iyer have been excluded from the 30-member contract this time. This time, emphasis has been given to youngsters on the list of 30, with a note from the BCCI stating, “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have not been retained in this year’s consideration.” Last year, Iyer was in Grade B and Kishan in Grade C contracts.
However, the top four players in the central contract list remain unchanged. This list includes captain Rohit Sharma, along with the highest run-scorer in ODIs, Virat Kohli, Test’s best bowler Jasprit Bumrah, and Test’s best all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. For the first time, explosive opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has entered India’s central contract, following his outstanding performance against England. The top T20 batter, Surya Kumar, has been retained in Grade B.
Additionally, experienced batters Cheteshwar Pujara, pacers Umesh Yadav, openers Shaw and Agarwal, Deepak Hooda, and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal have been left out from the central contract. BCCI has also informed that those who have played two Tests, eight ODIs, and ten T20Is during the previous period will be automatically included in Grade C.
Indian cricketers in various categories are as follows:
Category A+ – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Category A – Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Lokesh Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Hardik Pandya.
Category B – Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Category C – Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Shrikar Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Abhishek Khan, and Rajat Patidar.
