A 10-team IPL, a tight international calendar, overlapping tours, and the Indian cricket team has this season seen almost completely different line-ups take the field across the three formats.
In fact, as many as 43 male cricketers have played for Team India since October 2021. And while the BCCI has set in motion a system that sees debut caps being handed almost every second match, the cap may just be all the reward some players are getting.
Why?
Well, with just about two-and-a-half months left in this 'season', the board is yet to announce the annual contracts, which traditionally are released by March each year and run from October to September. BCCI last announced contracts in April of 2021.
Why does that matter?
Well, of the 43 men who have played for India since October 2021, only 27 are earning from the yearly contract from the board, while 16 players are taking home only their match fee.
To dive deeper into the number – out of the 16 non-contracted cricketers, 6 have made it to the ODI starting XI at least once, 14 have featured in one T20I but not one has played a Test match. On the flip side, among the contracted 27 players who are playing this season, 20 have played at least one Test match, 15 of them one ODI, and 17 in one T20I respectively. Navdeep Saini is the only player from last season's contracted list to have not played so far this season.
(All Team India stats are till the 1st ODI between India and England on 12 July, 2022)
Suryakumar Yadav Headlines Non-Contracted List
To highlight just why new contracts should have been put in place by this time of the season, the case of Suryakumar Yadav stands out.
Yadav is among the 16 non-contracted players, but one look at his importance in the Indian team, and you'd be left asking questions. He has featured in 20 matches across formats for Team India since October 2021.
Since October last year, Suryakumar has amassed 398 runs from 15 T20Is, including a superb 117 against England at Trent Bridge recently. Only two other Indians (Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul) have achieved this feat in T20Is before him, proving that he is indeed a special talent.
The 31-year-old has impressed in ODIs as well, scoring 143 runs from five games with a top score of 64 against West Indies in February earlier this year.
Known for his wide range of shots across the ground, Suryakumar or popularly known as ‘SKY’ was also part of India’s squad for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, playing in four of India’s five group matches.
Ishan and Harshal in Same Boat
Besides Suryakumar Yadav, young batter Ishan Kishan and seamer Harshal Patel have also played a lot of cricket for India since October 2021. Both, also have no contracts from the BCCI.
Ishan has played 16 matches (1 ODI, 15 T20I) in this the last nine months for Team India with the 23-year-old scoring 452 runs in the 15 T20Is, including three fifties.
Ishan has, in fact, played more matches for India in the current contract period than experienced campaigners like Ravichandran Ashwin – 14 matches (7 Tests, 2 ODI, 5 T20I), and KL Rahul – 14 matches (3 Tests, 4 ODI, 7 T20I).
The latter two hold a Grade A category of BCCI central contract and earn ₹5 crore a season as retainer.
Ishan Kishan, like Suryakumar Yadav was also part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup (2021) but featured just once against New Zealand.
A late bloomer, Harshal Patel, meanwhile, has been a revelation of sorts for Team India in the shortest format of the game and has become an indispensable part of the playing XI.
Since October last year, the 31-year-old seamer who has featured in 17 T20Is (picking 23 wickers) has more games under his belt for Team India than contracted players such as Hardik Pandya – 15 matches (1 ODI, 14 T20I), Ravindra Jadeja – 15 matches (4 Tests, 1 ODI, 10 T20I), and Mohammed Shami – 12 matches (6 Tests, 1 ODI, 5 T20I). The three Indian stars currently hold a BCCI Grade A central contract as well.
BCCI's Vision, But Without Focus
In June this year, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah stated clearly what the men in power have planned for Indian cricket, "I have had discussions with NCA head VVS Laxman and we will always have 50 players in our roster. We are going in that direction where we will have two national teams ready at the same time," he told PTI.
And we have seen that format being followed in the last one month itself, with a separate team playing the T20Is against Ireland, another playing the Test against England and then a mix of both in the ODI series.
So while the path to be followed seems clear, what about the men who make it possible?
Is it fair that match-winners like Ishan, Surya, Harshal, Avesh Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad play only for match fee?
Just to show how glaring the discrepancy is – India's central contracts are divided into four categories, from the highest-paid players making Rs 7 crore a year and then Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore.
The match fee for a Test is estimated to be Rs 15 Lakh, an ODI is Rs 6 Lakh, and a T20I is Rs 3 Lakh.
If indeed the BCCI want to jump on the bandwagon of fielding different teams, and having a roster of 50 available players – isn't there a need to ensure the players too are rewarded? At a time when IPL is criticised for being prioritised by even international players, what's the precedent the board is setting when players' salaries seem to be nowhere on their agenda?
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)