Indian Cricket Board releases annual contract for 2023-24 year; Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan opt out of contract

On 28th February Indian Cricket Broad released the annual contract for the senior men’s team for the year 2023-24. The annual contract saw the removal of big names like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan as they missed Ranji Trophy matches for their state. Several reports suggested their removal from the annual contract, but it was unlikely that Indian Cricket Fans to believe in the Indian Cricket Board to take a step. Though they both were part of India’s 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, Ishan Kishan did not make himself available for any other Test series post that. In last year’s contract, Ishan Kishan was placed in Grade C while Shreyas Iyer was placed in Grade B.

As per a statement released by the Indian Cricket Board, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were considered for selection. “Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations," the statement read.

Shubman Gill and KL Rahul have been promoted

A total of 30 players have been named for the central contracts for the year 2023/24. The top players, with the likes of India captain Rohit Sharma, former India captain Virat Kohli, No.1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah and India’s No.1 all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are placed in the Grade A+ category. 

Shubman Gill and KL Rahul have been promoted to Grade A contracts while Hardik Pandya has retained his place. Even though he is not available for Test cricket. Suryakumar Yadav has retained in place in the Grade C contract. On the other hand, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been overlooked by the Indian Cricket Board for the annual contract for 2023-24 years.

Full list of players for the Indian Cricket Board annual contract:

Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. 

Grade A: R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.

Grade B: Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar