NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering to reward India’s Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara for his outstanding performance on the ongoing tour of Australia by upgrading his central contract to the highest A+ category, Press Trust of India reports.
The board will have to relax some norms with respect to Pujara as he is only a Test specialist at present and belongs to the Grade A category, earning Rs. 50 million per annum. It is his main source of income as neither does he feature in India’s limited overs teams nor plays in the IPL as franchises have avoided selecting him in the last four to five years.
It is learnt that CoA chief Vinod Rai, in all likelihood, will bring up the idea with chairman of selectors MSK Prasad along with the team management (captain Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri).
After the revised pay structure approved in 2018, A+ category players receive Rs. 70 million, which Pujara stands to earn. He is likely to join Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan in the list.
“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,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
“Pujara’s elevation to the top bracket could well be a message for youngsters that performance in Test cricket will be given top priority,” the official added.
The central contract could see another course correction with 21-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant, now India’s first choice keeper in Tests, being reinstated in the system after being dropped for the current financial year.
