One of Indian cricket’s finest servants, MS Dhoni, has been omitted from the Board of Control of Cricket In India’s (BCCI) annual contract list amid heightening rumors of possible retirement. Until as recently as last year, the wicket-keeper was a part of the A category that pocketed a sum of Rs. 5 crores.
Every year, the BCCI announces a central salary cap for its national team players, in various bandwidths according to the level of service and performance from each professional. Dhoni meanwhile, hasn’t openly admitted to a retirement decision, but not donned the Indian blue since the semi-final loss to New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The amount of cricket he has played since, now coupled with an absence in the contract list, means the Indian faithful’s hopes of witnessing their generational talent play in the forthcoming T20 World Cup are all but diminished. Other notable names to not have received a contract are Dinesh Karthik and left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed.
The central contract announced by Indian cricket’s governing body is for a period of 11 months, from October 2019 to September 2020. No more than 27 players have been drafted into four categories, with the A+ bracket leading the way with an annual salary cap of ₹7 Crore. The subsequent categories, namely A, B, and C, fetch ₹5, 3 and 1 Crore, respectively.
While the likes of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have risen to the upper blocks, Test wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha has dropped to the ‘C’ category owing to a lengthy injury.
Dhoni’s time in international cricket could be over, but nothing short of a spectacular IPL could also mean a recall, as head coach Ravi Shastri earlier suggested.
India will, at the moment, be keen on leveling the series against Australia after being beaten thoroughly in the opening ODI at Mumbai. The second ODI will take place tomorrow, January 17, at Rajkot.
The BCCI categories are as follows:
Category A+: Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma – for their valuable, consistent contributions across all formats.
Category A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant.
Category B: Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal.
Category C: Kedar Jadhav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Manish Pandey, Hanuma Vihari, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar.
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