Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are likely to gain promotion to Grade A of the 2022-23 BCCI central contracts. Although no official confirmation has been made on this matter yet, it was learnt that this decision has been tentatively finalised during the Board’s apex council meeting on Wednesday.
While all-rounder Pandya and middle-order batter Suryakumar are set to be promoted, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha may no longer find themselves on the central contracts list, sources said.
If this does happen, it could well be the end of the international careers of both Rahane and pacer Ishant. Rahane’s last India appearance came back in January this year during the Cape Town Test versus South Africa, while that of Ishant was against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021.
The Mumbai Test against the Black Caps 12 months ago was the last time Saha had donned the India cap. Saha’s exclusion, though, was pretty much on the cards as head coach Rahul Dravid had made it clear to the wicketkeeper-batsman after the Test series in South Africa early this year that he would no longer be in Team India’s scheme of things.
While Rahane and Ishant were in Grade B for the 2021- 22 season, Saha had been in Grade C. Coming back to Pandya and Suryakumar, their elevation from Grade C was very much expected following their match-winning contributions, especially this year.
Pandya’s rise began with IPL 2022 when he captained Gujarat Titans to glory in their debut season, performing with both bat and ball. Even after his India comeback following a successful IPL, Pandya made his presence felt, particularly in the T20Is.
As for Suryakumar, he has been India’s standout performer in the shortest format. His pyrotechnics and 360-degree strokeplay coming in at No.4 was one of the major reasons behind India’s qualification to the semi-final stage of this year’s T20 World Cup.
It won’t be surprising if keeper-batter Ishan Kishan, too, gets a central contract and finds himself in Grade Bafter his double-hundred in the third and final ODI versus Bangladesh. But what about the anticipated overhaul in terms of India’s T20I perspective? According to Board sources, a final decision, including that on the central contracts, could be finalised only after the news election committee is formed.
Sponsor poser
The apex council also discussed the aspect of the Indian team’s official sponsor Byju’s, which wanted to terminate its association with the BCCI post the T20 World Cup. However, it was learnt that the Board has asked the ed-tech company to continue the partnership at least until March 31, 2023. Byju’s had replaced Oppo as India’s official sponsor back in 2019.
