The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia has explained why central contracts are not rolled out for domestic stars even though they are qualified for it. The remarks come just days before the board the is set to issue fresh contracts for players who are a part of the international squads across formats. The BCCI secretary reasoned that the board does not impose anything on the state associations and that they function on their own.
‘BCCI cannot…’
Speaking to Sportstar, the BCCI secretary claimed that every state association was autonomous and that they were being supported by the board adequately. He said that the state associations were very well capable of formulating their own policies for their players. The BCCI has always advocated for performers in the domestic tournaments to feature for Team India across formats. However, this hasn’ translated into literal sense over the years, with several stars missing out on the BCCI’s central contracts.
“The BCCI cannot put its diktats on the state association. Everybody is autonomous, and they have to frame their own policy. All the associations are doing their best for the growth of the game. I am sure all associations are well supported by the BCCI, and they can take any welfare schemes for development of the game, as well as the players and also the other stakeholders, including the umpires, scorers, coaches, and training staff. They can formulate their policy, and sufficient fund is being pumped into all the state associations,” BCCI secretary Saikia said.
The BCCI secretary further claimed that no state can complain abou lack of funds from the central board. He also confirmed that the A+ category will be scrapped, which means Rohit, Virat, Jadeja and Bumrah will be demoted.
“Not a single association is complaining that there is a dearth of funds for which they cannot take welfare measures. I am sure they are doing their best, and at the national level, the BCCI is obviously always supportive,” the BCCI secretary added.
Current BCCI Central Contracts (2024-25)
| Grade | Player |
|---|---|
| A+ | Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja |
| Grade A | Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya |
| Grade B | Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal |
| Grade C | Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana |
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