5 Players in A plus category

New Delhi. Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and senior off-spinner R Ashwin found themselves relegated from the top-paid bracket with the BCCI introducing an A+ category in the central contracts for which only five players, including skipper Virat Kohli, were picked.

The batting troika of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan along with pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were selected for the A+ category, which will ensure them annual contracts worth Rs seven crore each. Dhoni and Ashwin have been bracketed in the A category along with Ravindra Jadeja, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Wridhhiman Saha. These seven players would be eligible for a contract of Rs five crore each. While paceman Mohammed Shami’s name has been withheld on allegations of domestic violence and adultery by his wife, veteran Yuvraj Singh and young Rishabh Pant have been omitted from the last list even as Suresh Raina makes a comeback.
Asked about Dhoni being kept out of top bracket, a senior BCCI official said:”It’s a simple logic that selectors have applied. Play more and get paid more. The five in question are indispensable in all three formats right now. They deserved to be paid more. Also Ravi Shastri, Kohli and Dhoni have been taken into confidence.
Explaining the logic behind picking category A players, the official said, The second group comprises players who are certainties in at least one format like Saha and Pujara. They are in second group because of their dependability in at least one format,” he said. “Dhoni has retired and Ashwin, Jadeja are no longer automatic selections in limited overs. They are as of now not in WC scheme. So in second category,” the official added. The B category will feature KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma and Dinesh Karthik.
In Grade C will be Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Karun Nair, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel and Jayant Yadav. The Grade B category contracts are worth Rs three crore, while those in Grade C are of Rs one crore.