After his top show Down Under, Cheteshwar Pujara may get a contract upgraded

He is one player who draws the least interest in buzzing tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL). Last year, when everybody else was busy focusing on the IPL, the man headed to England to prepare for a tough series there. He has played only five ODIs and 56 T20s in his career till date. Cheteshwar Pujara symbolises the olden days of cricket when Test cricket constituted a batsman’s real identity.

However, the player of the ‘endangered class’ of Indian cricket could see some positive change in his cricketing fortunes post the class scripted in the ongoing Test series in Australia by slamming three centuries. While the first two in Adelaide and Melbourne saw India win the Tests, the third in the ongoing match in Sydney also has his team in the driver’s seat.

The New Indian Express cited reports as saying that Pujara’s top show with the bat Down Under could see him grab an upgrade to the ‘A-plus’ bracket in the central contracts since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering a relaxation of norms for the No.3, often hailed as the second wall of Indian cricket after the legendary Rahul Dravid.

CoA chief to discuss Pujara contract with chief selector & team management

It has been learnt that the chief of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) Vinod Rai will bring up the idea with the chief selector MSK Prasad along with the team management comprising captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri. After the revised pay structure that was approved last year, a player belonging to the ‘A-plus’ category gets Rs 7 crore while those in ‘A’ category, that include Pujara, gets Rs 5 crore. Those in ‘B’ and ‘C’ categories get Rs 3 and Rs 1 crore, respectively.

“Pujara’s brilliant performance deserves recognition. The CoA chief will discuss with the team management and the chief selector to check if the rule for all-format specialists in the top bracket can be relaxed,” the NIE cited agencies as quoting a senior BCCI official on the condition of anonymity.

Pujara is by far the highest scorer in the ongoing series from both sides with a tally of 521 runs in seven innings at an average of 74.42. Besides three tons, Pujara has also scored a fifty in Adelaide. The second-best to Pujara is Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant but he is a distant second with 350 runs. Kohli is in the third position with 282 runs.

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