Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been reinstated in the BCCI’s central contract list for the Indian men’s national team, marking their return after being previously excluded. In a significant update announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday, seven players have also been awarded central contracts for the first time, reflecting the board’s ongoing efforts to recognize emerging talent and reinforce the team’s core strength. This move highlights a balanced approach, blending experience with promising newcomers in India’s cricketing setup.
The 34-player list has retained the earlier format, with players being slotted into four categories – A+, A, B and C. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah continue to be retained in the A+ category.
In the ‘A’ category, has a new inclusion with Rishabh Pant finding an escalation. The wicketkeeper, who was in Category B in last season’s contract, has been clubbed alongside Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami. R Ashwin is the only exclusion from category A since he retired from international cricket earlier this year.
Iyer, who was found a place again in the contract list, has been slotted in Category B, which apart from Pant, retains the same look, with Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal finding a place.
Category C is where the most shuffle has happened. Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, KS Bharath and Avesh Khan – who were in Category C last season – have been left out of the contract list altogether. Meanwhile, as reported by Cricbuzz earlier, Dhruv Jurel, Sarafraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshit Rana have found a place.
Central Contract List:
Grade A+ (4 Athletes): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja
Grade A (6 Athletes): Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya
Grade B (5 Athletes): Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C (19 Athletes): Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarafraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshit Rana
IN: Dhruv Jurel, Sarafraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Shreyas Iyer
OUT: Shardul Thakur, Jitesh Sharma, KS Bharath, Avesh Khan
Promoted: Rishabh (From Category B to A)
Retired: R Ashwin
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