The Indian cricket board on Wednesday sprang a surprise by giving white-ball specialists Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan the top-most contract according to their latest grade system, rewarding them substantially more than Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
At a time when Test cricket is struggling to keep pace with T20 that is witnessing an exponential growth, the decision to put India’s Test specialists in the lower category of contracts sends wrong signals to long format players.
It’s a sentiment shared by Pakistan legend Wasim Akram who said cricket boards should always reward Test players more than others.
“Test specialists should (get more). Because that’s the most difficult cricket,” Akram told Sport360 during an event in Dubai announcing his association with online cricket content provider CricInGif.
Akram pointed to the fact that players put their bodies on the line in Test cricket and there has to be a clear reward for those who show discipline to excel in the toughest format.
“That’s where you get hit by bouncers, you get hit on your head, on your fingers as a batsman. Bowlers bowl longer spells.
“That’s where the mindset of those who run cricket boards (matters). They should realise Test cricket is the ultimate and everything else follows,” Akram added.
In the BCCI‘s new contract system, limited-overs regulars Rohit and Shikhar find themselves in the A+ category, which is worth rupees 70 million ($1m).
The overall value of central contracts has risen substantially. Earlier, the highest grade (A) was worth 20 million rupees ($300,000) but now the second highest grade (A) alone carries a retainer of 50 million rupees ($770,000).
Most of India’s Test specialists now find themselves in the new A category. It includes Test spinners Ashwin and Jadeja and batsmen Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay.
For Ashwin, Jadeja, Pujara and Vijay, the value of their contract has jumped from 20 to 50 million rupees. But as a share of the overall pie, they find themselves way behind Rohit and Dhawan, whose contract value has risen from 10 and five million rupees respectively to 70 million rupees.
