Ian Bishop lauds new BCCI contracts for pacers, names one star to watch out for
Former West Indies fast-bowler Ian Bishop has heaped praise on the Board of Cricket Control in India’s (BCCI) contracts for pacers, saying he’s a big fan of the move.
The BCCI announced the annual retainership contracts for the senior men’s team for the 2023/24 season, with special contracts for select fast-bowlers.
Bishop took to social media platform ‘X’, calling the contracts for fast-bowlers a very innovative move, adding that he was excited to see Umran Malik’s name of that list. Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa are the players which will get the contract for pacers.
“Very innovative move by India to give out fast-bowling contracts. I am a big fan of that, especially to see Umran Malik’s name in that list. Any team that wants to be globally competitive must procure and develop quality fast-bowlers,” said Bishop.
Very innovative move by India to give out fast-bowling contracts. I am a big fan of that, especially to see Umran Malik’s name in that list. Any team that wants to be globally competitive must procure and develop quality fast-bowlers. — Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) February 28, 2024
Malik made his debut for India in a T20I against Ireland in Dublin in June 2022. Since then he has played 10 one-day internationals, picking 13 wickets while representing India in eight T20Is, claiming 11 wickets.
He represents SunRisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and has picked 29 wickets in 25 matches across three seasons. He had a breakout season in 2022, picking 22 wickets in 14 matches. However, he could not continue his stellar form in 2023, managing to pick just five wickets in eight matches.
Meanwhile, Akash Deep made a positive impression following his Test debut in Ranchi, where he picked three wickets in the first innings to help India take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the Test series against England.
BCCI CONTRACTS FOR 2023-24: FULL LIST
Grade A+ (4 Athletes)
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade A (6 Athletes)
R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Grade B (5 Athletes)
Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Grade C (15 Athletes)
Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar.
The special contracts for pacers show BCCI’s intentions of developing and looking after the current crop of fast-bowlers in India ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup and the subsequent tour of Australia.