Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were left out of Board's central contract.
Picture for representational purpose only.
Mumbai: Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were once an integral part of the India dressing room but on Thursday they were made aware of the fast changing reality.
The three senior players were left out of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s annual retainership contract for the 2013-14 season.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin, Suresh Raina and Sachin Tendulkar, who is currently playing his last Test match, were listed in Grade A, worth '1 crore.
In 2012, 37 players were contracted by the board while 25 players figure in the new list. From the last season, 17 players have been dropped while five new players have been added.
Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, who were last year given Grade A contracts were demoted to Grade B, which is of '50 lakhs.
The others in this are Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma.
Bhuvneshwar was promoted from Group C to B thanks to his consistent performance in both the formats of the game.
The Grade C list worth '25 lakh has wicket-kepper batsman Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Vinay Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat and Mohit Sharma.
The Pathan brothers, Munaf Patel and Ashok Dinda, who have been on the fringes of the team for a long time now have been shown the door.
S.Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu veteran and Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary too were dropped and the two are likely to feel the decision harsh.
The axing of veterans indicate that they no longer figures in the selectors’ scheme of things. The three now face a tough challenge to get back in the reckoning and their first task would be to be on the plane to
South Africa for India’s next overseas series.
The BCCI however clarified that if any non-contracted player was chosen to represent India, he would be given a Grade C contract.
“The players who do not figure in these lists will be placed in Grade C if they represent India in T e s t s / O D I s / T 2 0 Internationals during the season,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement on Thursday.
Players' retainership for 2013-14 GRADE A ('1 crore): Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin, Suresh Raina GRADE B ('50 lakh): Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rohit Sharma.
GRADE C ('25 lakh): Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Vinay Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohit Sharma. ?
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( Source : dc )
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