There veteran Indian cricketer, Cheteshwar Pujara’s series-winning performance in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia could get him an upgrade to the topmost A plus bracket in the central contracts as the BCCI is considering bending some rules for the dependable No.3. Pujara has so far scored 521 runs in seven innings with three centuries at an impressive average of 74.42. His performance is one of the crucial reasons that India is on verge of registering their first series win Down Under and the BCCI mandarins are pondering ways to reward his stupendous show.
It is learned that Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai, in all likelihood, will bring up the idea with the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad along with the team management (skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri). After the revised pay structure approved in 2018, A plus category players get ₹7 crore while A category, to which Pujara currently belongs, comes with a pay cheque of ₹5 crore. The B and C category players get ₹3 and ₹1 crore respectively.
The A Plus category comprises skipper Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan. Taking about the upgradation, talking to PTI, a BCCI officials aid, “Pujara’s brilliant performance deserves recognition. The CoA chief will discuss with the team management and the chief selector to check if the rule for all-format specialists in the top bracket can be relaxed. Pujara’s elevation to the top bracket could well be a message for youngsters that performance in Test cricket will be given top priority.”
ALSO READ: Cummins Feels Australian Batsmen Need To Learn From Cheteshwar Pujara
Asked what will happen if CoA member Diana Edulji opposes this move in case it is mooted by Rai, the official refused to comment. Pujara plays only Test cricket as he has also been ignored by IPL franchises for the last four-five years during the auction. With 18 Test centuries (second to skipper Kohli’s 25), there has been a lot of debate on whether Pujara’s contribution has been given the recognition it deserved.
While there is a school of thought that the A Plus category should be reserved for all-format performers, Dhawan is already an exception that as he hasn’t been playing the longest format and it will also be not possible in the coming days with the emergence of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal along with KL Rahul in the mix.
The central contract could see another course correction with Rishabh Pant, now the first choice wicket-keeper in Tests, being reinstated in the squad after being dropped for the current financial year.
