As the year is about to end, the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to announce the promotions and the new central contracts of the Indian players. And there are reports suggesting that Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya are going to be the big winners this year.
While Hardik Pandya is being considered as the ideal choice to replace the current Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the shortest format of the game, on the other hand, India’s very own Mr.360 has dominated the T20 format this year. Surya has been sensational throughout the year and all thanks to his consistent performances he has fixed his spot in India’s playing XI in the shortest format of the game. He has also broken into the ODI setup and is now waiting for a Test call.
Hardik and SKY to receive big promotions
Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, both cricketers are currently in Grade C of the contracts. A double promotion is on the cards for Hardik Pandya as he will be leading the Indian side in near future. Hardik is one of the most important figures in India’s white-ball set-up at the moment.
It has to be noted that the upcoming two years – 2023 and 2024 are going to be very crucial for Indian cricket, especially in the white-ball format of the game as ODI World Cup 2023 and T20 World Cup 2024 are scheduled during that time.
Besides Hardik and Surya, another strong performer who will break into the Grade A category could be Axar Patel, who has been playing consistently in all the formats of the game. He has done well in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. Shubman Gill is also likely to receive a big promotion. He has been very impressive in the ODI and T20I off-lately and the sensational opener is expected to get rewarded for that.
Shardul Thakur, on the other hand, might get demoted to the Grade C category as he has faded away from the Test and T20I format. Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav, and Deepak Hooda might break into the Grade C category. The likes of Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Deepak Chahar are likely to hold on to their Grade C contract.
Players who are all set to lose central contracts: Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, and Wriddhiman Saha are all but certain to lose their central contracts with the BCCI.
2021-22 player contracts:
Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Grade A: R Ashwin, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant
Grade B: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma
Grade C: Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hanuma Vihari, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Mayank Agarwal
