BCCI has never held any regard for pompous showdowns as in the middle of an ongoing thriller between Punjab and Rajasthan Royals they came out with the 2021 BCCI Annual Contract. To make it even more interesting, they decided to axe Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey from the contract list.
Kedar Jadhav has entered into a receding tailspin for ages now and the whirlwind of entropy that he is a part of at the moment has simply refused to relent. A man who has been a part of 73 ODI’s and 9 T20I’s started losing his footing ever since IPL 2020 and stiff competition in the middle of the Indian cricket team has made life a lot more difficult for this middle-order batsman.
His fitness levels have also dropped over the last couple of years and with fitness being a primo to be chosen in the Indian ranks, he was never coming back unless he could have something extraordinary. Despite pulling off a couple of brilliant shows recently for Maharashtra, it wasn’t really enough to keep him buoyed for another Indian song. Much to the surprise of the Indians, even Manish Pandey was axed from the contracts.
The 31-year old has failed to redeem himself despite countless chances in the Indian colours. Known for his robust fielding skills, he failed to live up to the expectations which were slapped onto him before every match in which he participated. He has done a fair bit of justice to his name in IPL, however, his consistent failures to put up a decent show in international colours has finally snuffed out the patience level of the selectors.
The BCCI Annual contract at a glimpse:
Skipper, Virat Kohli, vice-captain, Rohit Sharma and express fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah were the only ones who could make the cut for the A+ category that will see them earning a staggering Rs 7 crores annually from the boards.
There are 10 players who will be a part of the A category, thereby earning Rs 5 crores in the process and five players in B category will be earning Rs 3 crores annually. The 10 cricketers who have been a part of the C category will be awarded with Rs 1 crore annually.
Full list of the contracted players:
Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
Grade A: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, K.L. Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya.
Grade B: Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Agarwal.
Grade C: Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj.
