BCCI takes a final call on Shreyas Iyer's central contract!! These Indian players set to be demoted
Published - 25 Mar 2025, 10:41 AM | Updated - 25 Mar 2025, 11:36 PM
Table of Contents
The BCCI's central contracts list for the men's cricket team will be released in a few days and there are speculations over some changes in it. While there is some good news for the middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could be demoted.
Shreyas Iyer performed exceedingly well during India's successful Champions Trophy campaign and was key to the team's title win. As a result, he is likely to be rewarded for his performance with a place back on the list.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not all-format players after having retired from the T20I format last year. As a result, they could face a likely demotion in their category.
Shreyas Iyer to be back
There are likely to be some changes in the latest list of BCCI's national central contracts. Shreyas Iyer, who was removed from the list in 2024, is all set to make a comeback.
Shreyas Iyer was dropped from this list after the board felt that he was prioritizing IPL over domestic cricket. However, he played domestic cricket consistently after being dropped from the list and recently performed brilliantly in the Champions Trophy as well.
A player needs to play either three Tests, eight ODIs, or 10 T20Is during a particular calendar year to be considered for the upcoming season. Shreyas Iyer has played 11 ODIs this season, which involved five during the Champions Trophy, and also performed well.
Alongside Shreyas Iyer, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal could also get promoted to Grade A from Grade B. Jaiswal has been promising across the formats he has played so far and has established himself as a mainstay in the Test format.
Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma likely to be demoted
There are also some updates on the star cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are currently in the Grade A+ category. Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, and Jadeja were included in the A+ category last year since they were first-choice players in all the formats.
It is believed that all the stakeholders are not in favor of keeping Rohit and Kohli in the highest category now since they are not all-format players. Along with them, Ravindra Jadeja's place in the A+ category is also under the scanner.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the T20I format after the T20 World Cup 2024 last year. All three of them are active in Tests and ODIs only and as a result, their spot in the BCCI's highest category is being questioned.
Only Jasprit Bumrah is a certainty in the highest grade as he is still an all-format player. Bumrah has been one of the best performers across formats over the last few years and is also in line to become India's next Test captain after Rohit Sharma.
Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy to be promoted
Allrounder Axar Patel is also likely to get a promotion from Group B to Group A. The spin-bowling allrounder has grown in stature over the last few years and played key roles in India's two ICC title wins in the last two years.
Axar was also named India's vice-captain recently for the T20I series against England in the absence of Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be removed from the list after he announced his international retirement last year during the Australia tour.
Young allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been impressive in the international format so far, is likely to be included in this list as well. Reddy was impressive in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and played all five Tests in the series.
