As promised, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has inducted Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan in the BCCI Central Contract for 2023-24. They became eligible after playing the 5th IND vs ENG Test in Dharamsala. However, Shreyas Iyer remains absent from the list. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas were axed from the contracts after ignoring BCCI’s advice to play Ranji Trophy.
In order to be eligible, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel had to play a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is. Both played three Tests against England.
“Athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis,” BCCI said in a statement earlier.
No Shreyas Iyer
However, it seems BCCI is still not happy with Shreyas Iyer. The India batter remains absent from the BCCI Central Contract after ignoring BCCI’s advice to play Ranji Trophy. While he did eventually play the semifinal and final, BCCI had already axed him from contracts.
Reports claimed that Shreyas might be included in the Central Contract. However, at the BCCI Apex Council Meeting on Monday, the decision-makers ignored his name.
Iyer complained of back injury and was sent to the NCA ahead of the 3rd IND vs ENG Test. While NCA cleared Iyer, he continued to complain. The selectors dropped him from the remaining matches. Shreyas Iyer skipped Ranji Trophy for Mumbai citing injury. While he eventually turned up to play for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy semifinals and final, he suffered pain again in the back after scoring 95 against Tamil Nadu.
He also consulted a spine surgeon in Mumbai before leaving for Kolkata to join KKR camp. But he was advised against excessive lunges while playing forward defensive shots.
Latest on IPL 2024
BCCI Central Contract 2023-24
Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade A: R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Grade B: Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel.
Fast Bowling Contract: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa.
Editors pick
