Senior players Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma are likely to lose their central contracts with the Indian cricket board (BCCI) when the new annual central contracts are set to be announced after the board’s apex council meeting on December 21.
On the other hand, Hardik Pandya, who is the frontrunner to become T20I captain, is likely to get a promotion from C to B, according to news agency PTI. Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav are also likely to promotion when the list for the the 2022-23 is finalised. The apex council meeting, which has 12 points in its agenda, will see the retainership contracts for men’s and women’s senior teams discussed.
Pandya has been a consistent performer in T20I cricket for India in 2022, having lead in Ireland and New Zealand in the absence of full-time captain Rohit Sharma. However, the Gujarat Titans captain is being seen as a favourite to replace Rohit in the shortest format of the game as India begin their roadmap for T20 World Cup 2024. Pandya was demoted from Grade B to C last year after he missed a major chuck of matches due to injuries.
Notably, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma have not been playing Test cricket regularly after the senior duo was dropped earlier this year.
An A+ contract in the annual retainership offers Rs 7 crore, Group A Rs 5 crore, Group B Rs 3 crore and Group C offers Rs 1 to the cricketers.
