Big name misses out on BCCI's new annual contracts

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the new annual contracts for the players. The board has announced the central contracts with a lot of good news for the cricketers in the country. While most of the names in the top level central contracts have come as expected, one big name seems to be missing from the list.

One of the premier pace bowlers of the Indian side, Mohammed Shami, has apparently found no contract to his name in the recently announced list of the BCCI. In the men’s senior division, the central contracts of the board has four categories. These are grades A+, A, B, and C. All these grades have variable pay with the A+ category benefiting the most with a grade pay of INR 7 crore.

Only five players have been named in this particular top most category. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Jasprit Bumrah have fetched this contract. While Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar have been the preferred pacers in the Indian side in the recent times, the place held by Mohammed Shami in the Indian setup cannot be ignored either.

He is among the regular faces of the national team. However, in the recent times, he has largely been warming the benches. Whether the performance has been taken as the parameter to exclude Mohammed Shami from the list or not, remains to seen. If performance is the parameter, then Shami at least deserved to get a Grade C contract considering the fact that he has been in the Indian squad on most major international assignments in the previous season.

Controversies galore for Mohammed Shami

In all likelihood, it is possible that Shami failed to get a contract owing to the recent controversy he was dragged in. His wife, Hasin Jahan, has put allegations against him for extra-marital affairs, as well as torture. Considering the fact that the same could mean legal implications, it is very much possible that the BCCI is awaiting the legal clearances before handing out a contract to Shami.

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