The BCCI’s announcement of the men’s central contracts raised eyebrows when Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were dropped, despite their contributions to India’s 2023 World Cup campaign. The reason was their failure to play domestic cricket as requested by the board. Ajit Agarkar, Chairman of Sectors, decisively removed Iyer and Kishan from the central contracts, with the board showing no hesitation. With the contracts up for renewal again, similar changes are expected, with Iyer likely to regain his contract, but Kishan’s future remains uncertain.
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, there may be further changes in the central contracts. Chief selector Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia are set to meet on March 29 in Guwahati to discuss the squad for the England tour in June after the IPL. They are also expected to finalise the central contracts.
The women’s team contracts were announced last week, but the men’s selection committee remains divided on the future of some key players. The report suggests that Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja could face scrutiny. Currently, they are in the A+ category, the highest, but with their retirement from T20Is, they may be demoted to category A.
The Jagran report also mentions that the selectors are uncertain about Rohit’s future as captain, while Kohli’s form in Test cricket has also been questioned. Despite his recent form in ODIs, Rohit’s performance in Tests has been underwhelming. Kohli’s struggles in the longest format have also raised concerns. Top officials are reportedly advising the selection committee to reconsider contracts for Rohit and Kohli due to their uncertain future in red-ball cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah seems likely to retain his A+ contract, while Shubman Gill (previously in category A) may move to A+, and Yashavi Jaiswal and Axar Patel could be promoted to category A. New players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, and Abhishek Sharma are set to enter the C category. Ruturaj Gaikwad may lose his spot in the C category, as he last played in July 2024.