MUMBAI (Cricinfo): The top tier of the BCCI’s annual central contracts has remained unchanged, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja in the A+ category.
But Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not part of the list of 30 contracted players for the 2023-24 season – the list has been expanded from last season’s 26.
Iyer, who was one of the key performers in India’s run to the World Cup final last November, lost his Grade B contract despite fulfilling the minimum criteria set by the board in terms of matches played.
Since last October, when the latest contract period started (it runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024), Iyer played four Tests, 12 ODIs and two T20Is. Two of those Tests were the first two of the ongoing series against England, where he struggled for form and was left out for the remainder of the series.
Not long after that, Iyer informed the Mumbai Cricket Association that he had been suffering from back spasms, and would not be available for the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda.
Since then, though, Iyer has made himself available and is part of Mumbai’s squad for the semi-final against Tamil Nadu on March 2. Kishan had a Grade C contract last year.
