BCCI intimated MS Dhoni about his exclusion from central contracts list, as per reports

MS Dhoni's name was not included in the latest list of central contracts.

MS Dhoni | GettyBCCI recently announced its list of central contracts for the upcoming season and the omission of MS Dhoni from the said list came as a huge surprise, not only to his fans but to cricket fraternity as well.

However, it seems that Dhoni was informed prior to the announcement by the BCCI that his name was been removed from the list. If the former skipper makes it to the T20 squad sometime this year, he might be re-inducted on a pro-rata basis even though chances of that are remote.

"Let me clarify that one of the top-most BCCI office-bearers spoke to MS and told him about how they are going about in the central contracts. He was clearly told that since he hasn't played any game in the said period (September 2019 till date), he cannot be included for the time being," a top BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

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"Let's not get into who spoke. The fact is that a player of his stature needs to be told that he is not being awarded a central contract for the time being and it was done in an appropriate manner," he said when asked who among BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and CEO Rahul Johri spoke to Dhoni.

The official made it clear that if Dhoni makes it back into the team for the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, he will be automatically included in the contract list. "There will be an Asia Cup T20 (likely to be shifted from Pakistan) and if Dhoni plays a certain number of matches, he will be automatically included. It's not like he has been dumped for good. It's just that he doesn't qualify because he has not played," the official said.

The existing rule for awarding central contracts is that a player needs to compete in a minimum of three Tests or eight ODIs to qualify. He can also get in by playing a stipulated number of T20 games (depending on the season when there are more T20s).

"Like Washington Sundar has played 21 T20 Internationals and at least more than 10 in the current season and with more T20s this year, he got a contract. Similarly, Wriddhiman (Saha) had a group C contract last year when he was injured. To get into group B, currently, you need to play three Tests and he fulfilled the criteria during the home season. Same for Mayank Agarwal. That's how it works," the official explained.

"If Prithvi Shaw is selected in the Indian team and plays just one more Test, he will get a Grade B contract on a pro-rata basis," he added.

The official also said that only Dhoni knows when he will announce his retirement.

(PTI inputs)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 16 Jan, 2020

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