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The BCCI announced the Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) for the 2023-24 season (October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024). Notably, the India board has "not considered" Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations. Continuing in Indian cricket, wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul is doubtful for the fifth Test against England in Dharamshala.
With Rahul's fitness uncertain, the Board for Control of Cricket in India and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) decided to send the Lucknow Super Giants overseas. The report by Cricbuzz revealed that this trip to London will see Rahul look for an expert opinion on his condition, for which he has been under treatment for around a week since.
Here in this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on February 28.
Major cricket events that happened on February 28
BCCI "not consider" Chahal, Iyer and Kishan for annual contracts
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) for the 2023-24 season (October 1st, 2023 to September 30th, 2024). Notably, the India board has "not considered" Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations.
Annual Player Contracts for Team India
- Grade A+ (4 Athletes): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
- Grade A (6 Athletes): R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
- Grade B (5 Athletes): Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
- Grade C (15 Athletes): Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar.
Jasprit Bumrah set to return for 5th Test
Moving away from KL Rahul, fellow absentee from the fourth Test, Jasprit Bumrah is slated to return to the Indian side for the final fixture in Dharamshala. With Bumrah's return, the team could rest a few other players with the series in the bag as per Cricbuzz. The Indian players have been asked to assemble in Chandigarh on March 2. The English players will reach Dharamsala via a chartered flight on March 3.
KL Rahul sent to London for treatment, doubtful for 5th Test
Indian wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul is doubtful for the fifth Test against England in Dharamshala. With Rahul's fitness uncertain, the Board for Control of Cricket in India and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) decided to send the Lucknow Super Giants overseas. The report by Cricbuzz revealed that this trip to London will see Rahul look for an expert opinion on his condition, for which he has been under treatment for around a week since.
Devon Conway ruled out of 1st New Zealand vs Australia Test in Wellington
New Zealand and Chennai Super Kings Devon Conway has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia in Wellington. Part of a two-match Test series, the opening red-ball fixture is slated to kick off on February 29 in Wellington. The trans-Tasmanian rivals, before the red-ball leg, battled it out across three T20Is, where the Aussies registered a onesided 3-0 victory. In the second match of this T20I series, Conway suffered a thumb injury in Auckland last Friday.
MI vs UP WPL 2024: Navgire, Harris fire Warriorz to 7-wicket win over Mumbai
After losing their opening two matches, Alyssa Healy's UP Warriorz registered their first win of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 as they defeated the defending champions, Mumbai Indians. Kiran Navgire's spectacular half-century and Grace Harris' all-round performance helped UP beat Mumbai by seven wickets on Wednesday. Batting first Mumbai posted 161 on the Hayley Mathews' 55-off-47. But in the chase, Navgire (57-off-31) and skipper Alyssa Healy (33-off-29) combined for a 94-run partnership for the first wicket while Grace Harris' unbeaten 17-ball 38 runs helped the Warriorz to register the win.
I want to create a pool of fast bowlers: Muzumdar on how WPL will Indian cricket
India Women's head coach Amol Muzumdar hopes to expand the team's resources through the exciting Women's Premier League which is currently in its second season. W hile commentating on the game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants, Muzumdar said, "I would want another pool of 20-25 players to create a bench strength for the Indian team. Four fast bowlers played the last series, I want to create a pool of fast bowlers [from the WPL]. It makes a lot of difference if you strengthen the bowling attack."
Root, Jaiswal surge forward in ICC Test batters rankings
England batter Joe Root, with his 122 in Ranchi on the ongoing tour of India, has jumped to No. 3, while Yashasvi Jaiswal's dominant run-scoring form has taken him to No. 12 on ICC's rankings for Test batters. Th e Mumbai batter was at No. 69 in the rankings before the start of the series. But over the four Tests, Jaiswal's 655 runs at an average of 93.57 in eight innings pushed him to jump 57 steps to 12th. New Zealand's Kane Williamson still holds the number one rank with Australia's Steven Smith at No. 2.
