When the BCCI announced the Central Contracts list for 2024-25, it was a given that Shreyas Iyer would make a comeback; he did and made an entry into Grade B. But then no one really expected Ishan Kishan to be included in Grade C, that when he last played international cricket for India in 2023.
Ishan Kishan Gets Grade C Contract
Not that he has been exceptional in domestic cricket too, that he deserved this spot, it could have gone to another promising youngsters. Just to clarify, Ishan Kishan is a supremely talented batter, but then without international performances, why was he considered for a contract, after being removed from the list last year?
Let’s jump straight to the point. Be it T20Is, ODIs or even Tests – he isn’t in any sort of pecking order. For the shortest format, there is Sanju Samson, and now Dhruv Jurel, who has shown, that he too can play the big shots, in IPL 2025. Then Jitesh Sharma is around. Not to forget, in times of need, someone like Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul can also be considered.
Numbers Aren’t That Impressive
For ODIs, KL Rahul is the first pick and then there is Pant. At max, Ishan would be third in that list. Tests, is a different territory altogether where Pant is of course the main pick, and then comes Dhruv Jurel. So, where does really Ishan Kishan fit in the scheme of things?
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in six matches he had scored 161 runs at an average of 32. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he had a good season with 316 runs in 7 matches, at an average of 45. In the current IPL season he has 138 runs in 7 matches, that also includes a ton.
If only these numbers were considered, then why wasn’t someone like a Karun Nair preferred, who finished as the Highest run-getter in VHT, and was brilliant in SMAT and Ranji too?
BCCI Central Contracts Full List 2024-25
| Grade | Player |
| A+ | Virat Kohli |
| Ravindra Jadeja | |
| Rohit Sharma | |
| Jasprit Bumrah | |
| Grade A | Rishabh Pant |
| Mohammed Shami | |
| Mohammed Siraj | |
| KL Rahul | |
| Shubman Gill | |
| Hardik Pandya | |
| Grade B | Suryakumar Yadav |
| Kuldeep Yadav | |
| Axar Patel | |
| Shreyas Iyer | |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | |
| Grade C | Rinku Singh |
| Tilak Varma | |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | |
| Shivam Dube | |
| Ravi Bishnoi | |
| Washington Sundar | |
| Mukesh Kumar | |
| Sanju Samson | |
| Arshdeep Singh | |
| Prasidh Krishna | |
| Rajat Patidar | |
| Dhruv Jurel | |
| Sarfaraz Khan | |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | |
| Ishan Kishan | |
| Abhishek Sharma | |
| Akash Deep | |
| Varun Chakravarthy | |
| Harshit Rana |
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