There’s been a change of plans for a meeting that was supposed to happen today in Guwahati for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The chairman of the senior men’s selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, and Devajit Saikia, who is the BCCI secretary, were set to have some important talks. But according to a report from the Indo-Asian News Service, they let everyone know the meeting was postponed the night before.
Sources say the main topics on the agenda were likely to be about the annual retainers for the senior men’s team and the India A squad, especially with the England tour coming up soon. An insider from the BCCI mentioned that Agarkar was originally supposed to fly into Guwahati this Saturday and have discussions with Saikia, but the word about the postponement came a bit too late.
Right now, it’s unclear when this meeting will actually take place. Some say it might happen after the second IPL game in Guwahati, or possibly in the first week of April. But no doubt, once they do manage to talk things through, the details will be shared with the public pretty quickly.
Another bit of news is that Gautam Gambhir, the Head Coach, might join this meeting too. He’s been away on a family trip, so he’ll probably want to get back to the grind as the new season approaches.
England tour in prime focus
Speaking of seasons, India A is gearing up for two solid four-day matches starting on May 30. After that, the senior team will jump into a five-match Test series at Headingley, kicking off on June 20. This series is particularly important since it’s the first one in the new World Test Championship cycle for 2025-27. Just to give some context, India missed the last final after losing a series against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
It’s been quite a while since India managed to clinch a Test series win in England, with the last victory dating back to 2007. A big question on everyone’s mind is whether some of the senior players will keep their spots and contracts with the BCCI. Players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja have stepped back from T20Is, but they still hold their A+ contracts. There’s a notable example in MS Dhoni, who kept his A+ contract even after he retired from Test cricket back in December 2014.
Major overhaul in the central contract
There’s also chatter about players like Shreyas Iyer, who didn’t make the cut last year but could find himself back on the list, especially after his amazing run in the Champions Trophy. He was the leading run-scorer in that tournament, which really puts him back in the spotlight. Other players like Varun Chakaravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Abhishek Sharma have been standing out in their formats and could get their first central contracts. And Axar Patel might even get a step up as well, given his recent form. So, there’s a lot to look forward to as things build up toward the upcoming matches and decisions on player contracts loom.
