BCCI Annual Contracts: Shreyas Iyer Set To Return, Virat Kohli To Be Retained In Top Grade?
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The BCCI has reportedly delayed announcing its annual central contracts as the board is awaiting the result of the Champions Trophy final.
Rohit Sharma (left), Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer (background) are currently in Dubai for the Champions Trophy. (PTI Photo)
With the Indian men’s cricket team currently gearing up for the Champions Trophy finale against New Zealand, the BCCI is keeping a close watch on the outcome of the title clash for multiple reasons including annual central contracts. There has been a delay this time around in announcing the contracts which were made public on February 28 last year.
As per The Times of India, the delay has been caused because the board wants to assess the performances of the players in the Champions Trophy before awarding the contracts.
Additionally, BCCI could also make changes in the A+ category which currently includes four players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
The top grade is reportedly awarded to the top performers across the three formats but with Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja retiring from T20Is after the world cup last year and then enduring a below-par season in the Tests as India failed to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship, the contracts are up for a review.
A strong performance in the Champions Trophy though could work in their favour.
“The board will wait for Rohit’s decision after the Champions Trophy. If by any chance he chooses to retire, then the board will see what needs to be done. One can’t discount the fact that he won the T20 World Cup in July and has led well in the Champions Trophy as well,” TOI quoted a source as saying.
Last year, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan lost central contracts with BCCI taking a tough stance on its players skipping domestic cricket.
While Ishan hasn’t played international cricket since November 2023, Iyer remains an intrinsic part of India’s ODI setup meaning he will likely be awarded a contract this time around.
Last year, as many as 30 players were awarded central contracts with six in Grade A, five in Grade B and 15 in Grade C.
Besides that, the India selectors also gave fast-bowling contracts to five players including Akash Deep, Yash Dayal, Umran Malik, Vijaykumar Vyshak and V Kaverappa.