BCCI Central Contracts: All-rounder Hardik Pandya set to be demoted
Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to be demoted to Grade C in the BCCI Central Contracts. Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been downgraded to Grade C. The duo is among the 27 players who will be awarded contracts for the 2021/22 season. The list was finalized by the BCCI Apex Council through a virtual meeting on Wednesday. Here are further details.
Why does this story matter?
Once a mainstay all-rounder for India, Hardik has been troubled by back injuries in the last three years. He made his international debut in January 2016. Hardik has operated as a specialist batter after recovering from his lower-back injury. The Indian all-rounder hasn't been bowling due to his back issues. He also missed the WI and SL white-ball series at home.
Dhawan plays only one format
Like Hardik, opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been demoted in the Central Contracts. The latter plays only one format now (ODIs). Dhawan played his last Test in 2018, while he has been out of reckoning in T20Is with the emergence of new talents. In a career spanning over a decade, the left-handed batter has smashed 10,358 runs at 40.14 across formats.
BCCI Central Contracts 2021/22 (1/2)
Grade A+ (Rs. 7 crore): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah Grade A (Rs. 5 crore): Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant Grade B (Rs. 3 crore): Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma
BCCI Central Contracts 2021/22 (2/2)
Grade C (Rs. 1 crore): Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Mayank Agarwal
What about other senior players?
Senior players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah retain their A+ status. However, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant have not earned any promotion despite being match-winners in all three formats. The duo has been awarded an annual contract of Rs. 5 crore along with KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammad Shami. As expected, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been demoted.
