Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur have been given promotions on India’s central contracts list.
All-rounder Pandya moved from Grade B (INR 3 crore) to Grade A (INR 5 crore), while pace bowler Thakur jumps from Grade C (INR 1 crore) to Grade B.
However, while they have enjoyed upward movements, others have been hit with demotions.
Leg-spin duo Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are now in Grade C and injury-hit seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved down one level to Grade B.
Meanwhile, there are also some new additions to the BCCI contracts list.
Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel have been given Grade C deals following their excellent showings in Australia.
Out-of-favour pair Masnish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav have not been given a contract.
Captain Virat Kohli, limited-overs vice-skipper Rohit Sharma and star all-format bowler Jasprit Bumrah have all retained their Grade A+ deals (INR 7 crore).
Other Grade A players include exciting all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and pace bowler Mohammed Shami.
This grade also features Test specialists Ravi Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, as well as white-ball batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul.
Natarajan on the Brink
Bowler T Natarajan was a notable absentee from the 28-man list due to conditions set by the BCCI.
A player has to play a minimum of three Tests, eight ODIs or 10 T20Is in a season to be eligible for an annual central contract.
Left-arm medium-pacer Natarajan only played one Test, two ODIs and four T20Is this season.
It was the same case for opener Prithvi Shaw due to only playing one Test in the considered time frame.
However, that duo, as well as the likes of Krunal Pandya or Suryakumar Yadav, will be rewarded with a deal on a pro-rata basis should they reach the required number.
They have the upcoming Test matches in England or the six ODI or six T20I before September 2021 to boost their appearances.
The BCCI Annual Contracts List
Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.
Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya.
Grade B: Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Agarwal.
Grade C: Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj.
