cheteshwar pujara
BCCI Central Contracts: Pant And KL To Get Promoted; Rahane-Pujara Might Get Demoted
Underfire senior pros -- Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who once were the backbone of the Indian Test side but are going through a lean patch, could be demoted to Grade B of the BCCI central contracts for the year 2022 while Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, who have done well in recent past, are likely to get promoted to A+ grade.
The central contract is an indicator of a player's performance during the last season and when BCCI finalises the new contract list for 2022 in the next few days, the duo of Rahane and Pujara could be demoted due to their underwhelming performances.
In the recently-concluded three-match Test series against South Africa, the duo has managed to score just 136 and 124 runs respectively. But, it's not about this series, as both experienced campaigners have been struggling for a while now and their poor form has been a matter of concern for the Indian team management.
Barring his match-winning century against Australia at the MCG in 2020, the Mumbai-born Rahane doesn't have too many impactful knocks under his belt and there have been calls to drop him from the Test squad.
In comparison to Rahane, Pujara has done well on overseas tours but his performances have also come in patches. In the last two years, the Indian Test team has suffered a batting collapse many times and the failure of No 3 Pujara is also one of the primary reasons for that.
So, considering all these factors Test specialists Pujara and Rahane, who are in Group A at present could be downgraded to Group B. However, it all depends on the thinking and approach of head coach Rahul Dravid, selectors and BCCI top-brass.
Notably, the BCCI has four categories -- A+, A, B, and C -- which carry annual retainership of Rs 7 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore, and Rs 1 crore respectively.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprith Bumrah feature in the A-plus category and they are likely to retain their positions. Kohli, who shocked all by relinquishing his Test captaincy recently hasn't had a great relationship with BCCI in the last few months, and also hasn't performed up to his standards, so it will be interesting to see what BCCI decides about the star batter.
Despite quitting the captaincy, Virat is still one of the top batters for India across three formats and BCCI may consider this factor as well while deciding his future.
Another big talking point for the board will be to upgrade two future captaincy contenders -- KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the elite A+ category.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya, who are currently part of group A, could be demoted to category B as both have struggled with their form and fitness throughout the season. On the other hand, all-rounder Shardul Thakur -- the only group B player who has impressed everyone with his performances across formats last season, can be promoted to group A.
In the current group, C, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, and Hanuma Vihari, could expect an upgrade while the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Prasidh Krishna could make their maiden entry in the contract list.
Overall, there could be some serious deliberations among the administrators about the composition of the different groups, before finalising the final contract list for 2022.
Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Mohd. 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, Md Siraj.
Related Cricket News on cheteshwar pujara
-
Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara Drops A Sitter At 1st Slip
Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara's dropped catch at the 1st slip. ...
-
'Two Spots In India's Playing XI Will Be Empty In The Next Series', Reckons Sunil Gavaskar
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will be dropped from the team for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka and two spots will ...
-
SA vs IND: We Can Restrict South Africa If We Bowl In The Right Areas, Says Cheteshwar Pujara
India top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes if the visitors' bowl well in the right areas, then they can restrict South Africa to a total less than 223 made by them ...
-
SA vs IND 2nd Test: We Need To Be A Little More Patient, Says Cheteshwar Pujara
India batter Cheteshwar Pujara said on Thursday the visitors will have to be a little bit patient in taking out the remaining eight South African wickets in the second Test. ...
-
Pant Will Improve As A Player As He Moves Forward In Career: Pujara
India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has come to the defence of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant ...
-
One Of Those Days Where Everything Was Going According To My Plan: Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara said day three was one of those days where everything he planned was panning out ...
-
SA vs IND: Pujara & Rahane Have Just 'One More Innings' Left; Reckons Sunil Gavaskar
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has predicted that under pressure Indian batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane might just have only one more innings to save their Test careers. Pujara and Rahane ...
-
VIDEO: 33-Year Old Pujara Goes After Scoring 3 Runs Of 33 Balls On 3rd Day Of The Year
Team India has been seen struggling in the ongoing second test match against South Africa at The Wanderers, Johannesburg. India managed to score 53/3 at the end of the first ...
-
Watch: Olivier Rocks Pujara, Rahane In Back To Back Deliveries
Watch: Duanne Olivier Dismisses Pujara, Rahane In Back To Back Deliveries IND v SA 2nd Test. ...
-
Pujara Has Set High Standards For Himself: Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid has backed senior top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara to do well in the second Test ...
-
VIDEO: Watch How Cheteshwar Pujara Is Received By Rahul Dravid After Getting Out For A Duck
South Africa vs India: The first match being played at Centurion has been nothing short of a bad dream for India's #3 batter Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara was dismissed for a ...
-
Cheteshwar Pujara 'Confident' Of Winning The Series Against South Africa
India top-order Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara has expressed confidence that his team has the capacity to win a series in South Africa. He added that his experience of touring South ...
-
SA v IND: Cheteshwar Pujara Backs Indian Fast Bowling To Be Strength Of The Team
Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has said that the Indian bowlers have always made the difference in overseas Tests, and now expects the best from them in the upcoming three-match series ...
-
WATCH: Ajaz Patel Dazzles Pujara With Exceptional Turn, Dismisses Him For Duck
In the ongoing test match between India & New Zealand, NZ spinner Ajaz Patel pushed India onto the backfoot on Day 1. He picked up 3 wickets in quick succession ...
Cricket Special Today
-
- 05 Oct 2024 01:56
-
- 02 Oct 2024 09:13
-
- 13 Sep 2024 12:23
-
- 10 Sep 2024 12:01
-
- 29 Aug 2024 01:18
-
- 06 Aug 2024 11:28