NEW DELHI :Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have won back central contracts, while stumper-batsman Rishabh Pant was upgraded in the new retainer list announced by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) on Monday.
Both Iyer and Kishan were left out last year after they skipped domestic cricket, which irked the BCCI, though Iyer cited a back injury.
Iyer was India’s highest run-getter in the team’s Champions Trophy victory this year and has excelled across formats to join India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and three others in Grade B.
Kishan is part of a 19-player group, who have been awarded Grade C contracts.
Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, veteran Virat Kohli, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravidra Jadeja have been placed in the A+ grade, the top category of the contract system.
Of the quartet, only Bumrah plays all three formats, while the other three quit T20 Internationals immediately after India won the 20-overs World Cup in West Indies last year.
Pant moved up to Grade A, which also includes the pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.
The BCCI, the world’s richest cricket board, did not respond to Reuters request to reveal any retainer figures.
Local media reported they would be 70 million Indian rupees ($822,561.69) for Grade A+, 50 million for A, 30 million for B and 10 million for C.
($1 = 85.1 Indian rupees)
