Three cricketers who were promoted in BCCI 2022 central contracts

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on March 2 (Wednesday) announced the 2022 central contract list for Indian players. While, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are the only players to have retained their Grade A+ plus status, several senior cricketers including Hardik Pandya Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara lost their Grade A status.

The board has four categories of central contracts and each carries a separate value of yearly payment amount. While, Grade A+ category is given INR 7 crore, Grade A (INR 5 crore), Grade B (INR 3 crore), and Grade C (INR one crore). Last year, BCCI had provided the central contract to 28 players. But, this year only 27 have been awarded contracts. While several players have been downgraded or removed from the contract list there are few players who have received a promotion. Here’s a list of

Three cricketers who moved up in BCCI central contracts

1. Shreyas Iyer (Grade B)

Indian batter Shreyas Iyer’s recent antics in the T20I series against Sri Lanka helped him give a remarkable promotion of 27 places to No 18 in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for T20I batters. As a result, the right-handed batter was promoted from Grade C to Grade B means Iyer will now be earning INR 2 crore more per year. Whether red or white-ball format, there has been no doubt about Iyer’s ability to make things happen. The batter had also recently scored a century in his debut game against New Zealand during the home series in November.

The 27-year old is a technically sound batter with an ability to hit the long ball as well. The right-handed batter has played a total of 62 limited-overs matches for India in which he has amassed a total of 1,756 runs. The batter also received the player of the series award in the recently conducted three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Talking about his Test career, Iyer has represented India in three Test matches and has scored 229 runs at an average of 45.80. In First-Class cricket, Iyer has scored 4794 runs with an average of 52.10. He has 13 centuries to his name in First-Class cricket as well. The batter will look to continue his good form in the Test series being played against Sri Lanka. 

2. Axar Patel (Grade B)

Just like Iyer, Axar Patel has also been promoted from Grade C to Grade B means a salary jump from INR one crore to INR three crore. The 28-year old made his international debut for team India in the ODI against Bangladesh. He has remained part of the ODI squad for a time period of four years and till now, has played a total of 38 matches and has scalped 45 wickets at an economy of 4.43. The left-handed batter has also has managed to score 138 runs.

Talking about his Test career, Axar made his Test debut against England in Chennai on February 13. The left-arm spinner has so far scalped a total of 36 wickets in just five matches with an outstanding average of 11.86. In batting, the 28-year old has scored 179 runs including a fifty under his belt.

As compared earlier, Axar is now a much-improved bowling all-rounder and will look to show his mettle in whatever opportunity he gets at the top level. The left-arm spinner was also retained by his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2022 and will look to perform well for the franchise.

3. Mohmmed Siraj (Grade B)

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj has got reasonable success in recent times in both the domestic and international stages. As a result, Siraj has also received a promotion from the BCCI putting him into a Grade B contract for Grade C. The 27-year old will now get an extra INR two crore from his last yearly contract of INR one crore.

The pacer made his international debut for India in 2017. Leaking runs and not taking wickets, Siraj was not so regular feature of the Indian setup earlier. However, the 27-year old made a remarkable improvement and was a key performer in India’s series win in Australia in 2020-21.

Siraj is now a key asset for both India and his IPL franchise RCB. Proving his worth in both field restrictions and death overs, Siraj was retained by the franchise at a whopping cost of INR 7 crore ahead of the upcoming season. The pacer will look to emulate his performance for RCB this year as well.

Siraj has represented India in nine limited-overs matches in which he has scalped a total of 10 wickets. Talking about his red-ball career, Siraj has taken 36 wickets in 12 matches he has played at an average of 29.64. The right-arm pacer has an economy of 3.09 in the longest format of the game.