Decision on Indian cricket team's central contract deferred: BCCI high-level meeting did not take place

The high-level meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which was widely reported in the media, did not take place on Saturday. This clearly indicates that the Indian men's cricket team's central contract has been postponed and that a final decision has not been made yet. A key source informed Cricbuzz that "all decisions have been deferred."

Prospects and reality of the meeting

According to reports, the meeting was to be held in Guwahati on Saturday, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia likely to attend. However, based on information from various sources, there was no meeting scheduled for this day.

The selection committee has not yet formally discussed the grades of the players, but there are indications that the BCCI wants to take a final decision on it as soon as possible. Along with this, there may also be a discussion about the tenure of the coaching staff of the Indian team.

Recently announced annual player contracts

Interestingly, the annual player contract for 2024–2025 was recently announced by the BCCI. However, there is still a possibility of changes in the central contract of some players.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was recently on a foreign trip, returned to India on Friday but was in Delhi on Saturday. At the same time, there is no concrete information about Ajit Agarkar's visit to Guwahati, although selectors are making trips to Assam to watch IPL matches. On March 26, Guwahati hosted a match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, and on Sunday, it will host another Chennai Super Kings match.

Coaching staff review

The performance of the coaching staff of the Indian cricket team was also to be reviewed in this BCCI meeting. According to sources, special attention will be given to the roles of two key coaching staff members.

Status of contracts of Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin

It is believed that Shreyas Iyer, who was dropped from the central contract last year due to not participating in domestic cricket, will return to this list again this time. On the other hand, the Grade A contract will not include the veteran offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has retired from international cricket. Apart from this, spinner Varun Chakraborty, who has recently played a big role for the Indian cricket team, is also likely to be included in the central contract.

According to BCCI rules, "Players who play at least 3 Tests, 8 ODIs or 10 T20 Internationals in a stipulated period are automatically included in Grade C." Chakraborty has played 4 ODIs and 12 T20 Internationals in the last 12 months, making him eligible for this category.

Changes are possible in Grade C, but other grades remain stable.

Apart from these major changes, most of the changes in the central contract are likely to happen in Grade C. 15 players participated in Grade C last year. At the same time, there were a total of 30 players in the entire contract, including 4 players in A+ grade, 6 players in A grade, and 5 players in B grade.

What will be the next step of BCCI?

After the postponement of this meeting of BCCI, now the question arises what will be the next step. Since the Indian cricket team has to play many important tournaments, the BCCI would like to finalize the central contract soon. In addition, significant decisions can be made regarding the coaching staff's tenure and role.

Conclusion

There is still doubt about the central contract of the Indian cricket team. However, there are indications that a final decision will be taken on this soon. The return of Shreyas Iyer, the exit of Ravichandran Ashwin and the inclusion of Varun Chakraborty in Grade C are among the possible changes. Now it will be interesting to see when the BCCI holds this important meeting and what new decisions are taken for the future of Indian cricket.