Star India batter KL Rahul is surely not having a good time on and off the field. The Southpaw is struggling with form in recent times and has been on the radars of critics. Rahul, who has been an integral part of the Indian team, is now fighting for his place in the team. Meanwhile, the wicketkeeper-batter has been demoted by Indian Cricket Board from Grade A to B in their annual contract for the year 2023.
The apex board for control of cricket in India released the list of contracted players on Sunday. According to the list, Board handed the central contract to 26 players for the upcoming year. Players like Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel got promoted to A+ and A respectively. Meanwhile, KL Rahul, who had a decent run in ODIs against Australia, has been demoted from Grade A to Grade B.
Rahul, who has been an asset for India, has failed to perform in recent times. He had a poor run in India’s tour to Bangladesh and then against Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Notably, Rahul was earlier dropped from the playing XI of the last two Tests against Australia. He also lost Vice-Captaincy in ODIs and Tests and might be dropped from the Test squad too.
Sanju Samson receives central contract
Star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has finally received a central contract for the upcoming year. In the latest announcement, Samson has been included in Grade C of the annual contracts. He will be receiving INR 1 Crore for the upcoming year. Apart from him, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda, KS Bharat, and Kuldeep Yadav have also been included in the list.
Notably, Shardul Thakur has been demoted from Grade B to C, while Deepak Chahar, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ishant Sharma are not included in the central contract. Both Ishant and Rahane were in Grade B during the previous cycle. On the other hand, star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has been promoted and included in the elite A+ group. He joins skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah on the list.
Notably, players like Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, who are running out of the team due to injuries have been included in the A+ and A categories, respectively. Meanwhile, fans go harsh on KL Rahul and reacts to his demotion. A Twitter user said, “usko toh bahar karna tha.”
Here are some Tweets:
Btw never deserved A contract
— Aarav Mavi (@AaravMavi14) March 26, 2023
— Florida woman ? (@NucleusDevi) March 26, 2023
B se bhi hatao usko, NO CONTRACT FOR HIM
— Kundan (@Kundanv55) March 26, 2023
That’s a really sensible move. Let’s hope it only motivates him to do better and come back stronger!
— Sumit Agarwal ?? (@sumitagarwal_IN) March 26, 2023
— Dr Khushboo ?? (@khushbookadri) March 26, 2023
Meanwhile Suneil shetty to Rahul pic.twitter.com/vVcAwGJV53
— ? (@SarcasticCowboy) March 26, 2023
His chances to performances ratio might not have been great this year but i firmly believe he is technically the best batsman of team India , i am sure he will prove his mettle soon and that he is indispensable in the playing xi circuit , more power ? @klrahul
— Hrishi Raman (@RamanHrishi) March 26, 2023
Venky parsad to akash chopra pic.twitter.com/xXkL9btj6s
— , (@kurkureter) March 26, 2023
He certainly had enough chances, I really hope he takes this as a motivation and bounces back
— ???. ????? ?? {Manish RMZ } (@MANISH__RMZ) March 26, 2023
After marriage responsibilities increased but saley decreased, Sad
— vhrr (@vhrr16572668) March 26, 2023
