Promotion to Shubman Gill, demotion of Virat-Rohit… BCCI is going to make big changes in the central contract.

Mumbai:Team India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill’s poor form once again came to the fore in the first match of the T20 series against South Africa. This young right-handed batsman was made to open with great expectations, but he returned to the pavilion after scoring only 4 runs. Gill has been seen struggling continuously in the last several T20 International matches. If we look at his last dozen innings, he has not been able to give even a single effective performance, which raises questions on his T20 form.

Preparing to get a big reward despite continuous failure

Although his run machine is silent on the field at the moment, Shubman Gill is going to get great happiness at the board level. If reports are to be believed, BCCI may promote Gill to A+ grade in the next annual central contract. This grade is considered to be the highest grade of Indian cricketers, in which the players involved get a retainer fee of up to Rs 7 crore every year.

At present Gill is included in A grade, where players get a contract of Rs 5 crore. As Gill’s stature has increased in Indian cricket, his importance within the board has also increased. In the same year, he was first given the opportunity to captain the Test team and then was given the command of the ODI team. Gill is also handling the responsibility of vice-captain in the current T20 team. Given this leadership ability and his increasing role in all three formats, he is being considered a strong contender for promotion to A+.

Understand BCCI’s grade system

BCCI divides players into four categories—A+, A, B and C.

A+ Grade: Only select all-format and high-value players are included. Rs 7 crore annually.

A Grade: Important players are kept, who are mainly active in two or all three formats. Rs 5 crore.

B Grade: Mostly players playing stable but limited formats come. Rs 3 crore.

C Grade: New players or format-specific cricketers are kept. Rs 1 crore.

If Gill gets promotion to A+, he will join the ranks of stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

Eyes also fixed on Rohit-Virat’s grades

While the promotion of Shubman Gill is considered almost certain, there is also discussion in the cricket world about what will happen to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Both the senior players are now mostly active in ODI format. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see whether the board retains him in A+ or shifts him to A grade. Bumrah and Jadeja are most likely to remain in A+ because both players are important needs of the team in all three formats.