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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the annual player retainer-ship contracts on Wednesday, February 28. The announcement surely came with some surprising talking points, including the removal of some notable names, including Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the list. Kishan held Grade C in the previous contract while Iyer was in Grade B of it in the previous contract. However, both the players have been removed from any of the categories as of now.
The BCCI gave contracts to 30 players, four players more than the previous contract. The contracts also saw Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan not finding a place in the contract despite performing well in the recent Tests. The reason behind this is the fact that both the players didn’t fulfill the criterion of getting picked in the contracts.
Notably, both Khan and Jurel made their Test debuts against England in the Rajkot Test. As per the criterion, both players need to play at least 3 Tests to get picked, and both of them have only played 2 Tests so far.
How can Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel secure BCCI central contracts?
While both the players didn’t get signed in the central contracts, they still have chances for the same. If Jurel and Khan participate in the 5th Test against England, set to be played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, they will be signed in Grade C on a pro-rata basis.
In a statement, BCCI said, “Additionally, athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis.”
The statement added, “For instance, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, having played 2 Test matches so far, will be inducted into Grade C if they participate in the Dharamsala Test Match, i.e., the 5th Test of the ongoing series against England.”