BCCI Central Contracts Rahane-Pujara's Grade A status at risk

NEW DELHI, Jan 20: Veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's position in group A of the BCCI central contracts could be up for deliberation when the board finalises its fresh list of contracted players for the upcoming season in a few days' time.

Another big question is whether the BCCI top brass is in a mood to upgrade two future captaincy contenders -- KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant -- alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in the elite A+ category.

The BCCI has four categories -- A+, A, B and C -- which carry annual retainership of Rs 7 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively.

As of now, there won't be massive changes to the 28 names that featured in the last list but there could be some serious discussions about the composition of the current groups which were in place last year.

"Obviously, Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah being the three indispensable players across formats would be in A plus category beyond doubt. But now Rahul and Pant are slowly establishing themselves as all-format regulars, so it needs to be seen whether the duo gets promotion or not," a senior BCCI source said on conditions of anonymity. 

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