BCCI is set to announce a new set of contracts for the 2022-23 season after its apex council meeting on December 21.
Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma could be protagonists of the past in Indian cricket after reports emerge that the two veteran cricketers are likely to lose their central contracts in the coming days.
The PTI reported Rahane and Ishant could be demoted from the contracts list that alludes to the retainership money above the match fees when the BCCI comes out with a fresh list of contracts for 2022-23 after the board’s apex council meeting on December 21.
The two cricketers seems to have been phased out from the scheme for Test cricket by the selectors and the management after a sustained poor run of performances in Rahane’s case and a sharp decline in fitness for Ishant.
Rahane, not long ago the vice-captain of the side, hasn’t been picked since being left out in the aftermath of India’s disappointing 2-1 Test series loss in South Africa earlier this year. From the beginning of 2021 till his sacking, the Mumbai right-hander averaged a measly 20.25 over 27 innings, facing criticism for his inconsistencies at the height of the bowling era.
For Ishant, the route out of the playing XI and subsequently the squad was rapid. Once hailed as the leader of India’s pace pack, he last played in November 2021 versus New Zealand and dropped from the squad after the tour of South Africa, where he didn’t feature in any of the Tests. From the start of 2020, Ishant featured in only 9 Test matches, missing multiple games due to an injury spree that perhaps ended a substantial career at the age of 34.
Also likely to be axed from the central contracts list is experienced wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who was told earlier this year by the selectors and head coach Rahul Dravid that he won’t be picked anymore as India look to consolidate KS Bharat as an immediate backup to the incumbent Rishabh Pant.
The fresh list of contracts would also be a cause of happiness for some, with Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya set to earn promotion from Bracket C to B. Hardik, the premier allrounder, who is being seen as the next T20I captain for India, could find himself in the second highest category for retainership fee, making him liable to receive INR 5 crores from the board.
After his tremendous year with the bat, including at the T20 World Cup in Australia, Suryakumar is set to join Hardik in the same bracket, as would the prodigiously talented Gill, integral to the Test and ODI set-up, and considered the upcoming poster-boy figure of Indian batting.
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It would be interesting to note what the board does in discussion with the yet-to-be-appointed new selection committee when it comes to the future of Shikhar Dhawan. Struggling for form, with calls for an axe hovering over his head, would the BCCI demote or sack the left-hander from the central contracts list and give youngsters like Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad an entry remains to be seen.
