No meeting; key contract decision postponed

The core contracts for the Indian men’s squad have not yet been formally decided. More specifically, Saturday did not see the powerful BCCI meeting that was much publicised in the media. With some degree of certainty, the ultimate decision has been postponed.

“All decisions have been deferred,” a high-ranking insider told Cricbuzz on Saturday. According to reports, head coach Gautam Gambhir, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were to meet in Guwahati on Saturday. This website is aware, nonetheless, that no such meeting was ever scheduled for that day.

As of Saturday, the selection committee had not formally discussed the player grades, but there are signs that the BCCI is eager to make a decision as quickly as possible regarding the grades and the coaching staff’s term for the Indian squad. It’s interesting to note that the 2024–25 annual player retainership was only revealed last week.

Gambhir, who was on vacation abroad, was thought to be in Delhi on Saturday but returned home on Friday. Selectors have been coming to Assam to witness the IPL matches, but there was no indication about Ajit Agarkar visiting Guwahati either. On March 26, Guwahati hosted a contest between the Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. On Sunday night, the city will host the Chennai Super Kings in its second and final IPL match of the season.

When the meeting is held, it is anticipated that a performance appraisal of the coaching staff of the Indian squad will be conducted. According to this website, the functions of two members of the coaching team will be given special attention.

It goes without saying that Ravichandran Ashwin, who has retired from international cricket, will be removed from the Grade A contract he was given last year, and Shreyas Iyer, who was excluded from the central contracts due to his failure to fulfil domestic responsibilities, will return to the elite list.

In the same vein, Varun Chakaravarthy, who was instrumental in India’s recent Champions Trophy victory in Dubai, would be given consideration for retainership since he satisfies the requirements. According to the BCCI regulations, “athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests, 8 ODIs, or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis.” Chakaravarthy is eligible since he has played in four ODIs and twelve T20Is (18 matches total) in the last 12 months.

Aside from those modifications, the contracts will mostly stay the same, with the exception of the flexible Grade C, which included 15 players. Last year’s retainership had 30 players in total, of whom four were in A+, six were in A category, and five were in Grade B.