The BCCI has announced the new annual contracts. As per the latest contract, Shikhar Dhawan has been moved out from A+ to A category. This development means that now only three players feature in the A+ category – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Apart from Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been downgraded to the A category. For the uninitiated, those in A+ category get Rs 7 crore per annum and those in A category are paid Rs 5 crore annually.
Dhawan’s relegation comes after his poor run in Tests in England, where he averaged just over 20. Meanwhile, rising star Rishabh Pant has made it to the A category. He already has two Test tons in nine games, both away from home.
Both Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, who made news for the Koffee with Karan controversy, find themselves in the B category while Vijay Shankar did not get a contract.
Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 7 crore).
Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Mohd. Shami, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (Rs 5 crore).
Grade B: KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya (Rs 3 crore).
Grade C: Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, H Vihari, Khaleel Ahmed, Wriddhiman Saha (Rs 1 crore).
--By A Cricket Correspondent
