Rishabh Pant's promotion, Ishan, Shreyas included; major talking points from BCCI's central contracts
The return of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contracts is the biggest talking point. Both the players were not considered for retainership last year. Here are some major points from BCCI central contracts 2024-25.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the central contracts list for the season 2024-25, with 34 players making their way into the retainer list. The contracts have, as usual, four categories, with 34 players in them, an increase from 30 players the last time.
The Indian Board has rewarded players playing international matches and also the top-profile ones who have featured in domestic cricket. Here, we take a look at five major talking points from the retainership.
Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer's inclusion
One of the biggest talking point of the retainership is the inclusion of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. Both the players were part of the BCCI central contracts in 2022-23, but were left out of the 2023-24 season after they did not make themselves available for the domestic season.
While Iyer had informed the Mumbai Cricket Association of his back issue, Ishan did not make himself available for Jharkhand and was instead seen playing the DY Patil T20 tournament. However, both of them played for their domestic sides later and have been picked in the central contracts now.
Rishabh Pant's promotion
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant, who was part of Grade B in the contracts last year, has been promoted to Grade A now. Pant's promotion highlights his presence in the Indian team across formats. This also highlights Pant's credentials as a future leader option apart from Shubman Gill, the ODI vice-captain.
Absence of fast bowling contracts
While there have been four more players added to the BCCI central contracts, the absence of the fast-bowling contracts raise questions. The Indian Board had introduced the fast-bowling contracts last year and had included Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.
While the fast-bowling contracts are absent, only Akash Deep has got a retainership in C Grade, and all the others have been dropped. This raises the question of India's future fast-bowling stocks and rewards.
Need of A+ category
Another thing which draws attention is the need for the A+ category in the contracts. India ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are part of the A+ category, the top tier in the contracts.
Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja have all retired from T20Is and play the other two formats. This raises the question of the need of the A+ contracts.