Pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was promoted to Grade A, but Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir, who have lost favour with the selectors, were dropped from the list of contracted players for 2014-15, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Monday.
Bhuvneshwar along with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin are among only five players in the elite Grade A, which will earn them Rs 1 crore for the season.
Raina is the surprise retention in the top grade despite not featuring in the Indian Test squad, while regulars in all the three formats, like Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane, are placed in Grade B, which will get them Rs 50 lakh.
Young Karnataka batsman K L Rahul, who was picked for the ongoing Australia Tests, was rewarded with a contract.
Bhuvneshwar was a deserving entry into the top bracket following fine performances in England and consistency which saw him being voted the BCCI’s 'Cricketer of the Year'.
The likes of Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma held on to their Group B retainership while Ambati Rayudu, after his good show in ODIs, was promoted to Group B.
Pacer Mohammed Shami and in-form batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has done well in tests and ODIs over thelast year, were also upgraded to the second group.
Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Parveez Rasool, by virtue of his ODI debut, was named in Group C, while Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary, having made his ODI return against Bangladesh, is in the same group. Pankaj Singh, after his Test match debut in England, is also in Group C along with Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron.
A total of 32 players have been awarded the annual contract.
The BCCI said, "Such players who are not in the list will be placed in Grade C as and when they represent India in Tests/ODIs/T20 Internationals during this season."
The grade-wise list of BCCI's contracted players for 2014–15
GRADE A
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
GRADE B
Pragyan Ojha, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Mohammed Shami.
GRADE C
Amit Mishra, Varun Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha, Stuart Binny, Pankaj Singh, R Vinay Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Parveez Rasool, Axar Patel, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, Karn Sharma, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav and K L Rahul.
