5 Players who got less than they deserved in BCCI annual contract list

The Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) announced the Annual Player Retainership 2019-20 on Thursday. While this process is done every year, there was more spice to it this year. The exclusion of former skipper MS Dhoni from the list became a topic of debate. With no clarity about the wicket-keeper batsman’s future, this has come at a time when it was least expected.

There were several trends on social media surrounding this topic. At the same time, some of the cricketers made huge gains as they were promoted in the ranks. A few cricketers also found their name in the Annual Player Retainership for the first time ever. There weren’t too many surprises but a few opined that some of the players were put in a lesser pay bracket than what they actually deserve.

Here are five players who got less than what they deserved:

1. Cheteshwar Pujara

Test cricket is losing its sheen as the time progresses. It doesn’t attract a great viewership when compared to the other formats and thus is not as profitable. Yet, it is the purest form of cricket and the most testing one if you are a player. It is never easy against the red cherry moving erratically and batting on a fourth or fifth-day surface.

In recent times, there have also been talks about playing only four-day Tests. While this seems to be a dying format, many hold it very dear to themselves. At this point in time, there lies a responsibility on the big guns like BCCI to do everything to preserve the format. Giving an A+ contract to someone like Cheteshwar Pujara would have been a very encouraging sign.

There were instances in the past when skipper Virat Kohli also felt that players like Pujara should be given more value than what they get. The No.3 batsman is an integral part of the Test set-up and has had huge contributions in some of India’s most memorable wins. He toils extremely hard and gives nothing less than his best in five-day cricket. Had he got the INR 7 crore contract, it would have been great as he surely deserves it.