3 Indian players who were lucky to be handed a central contract by the BCCI ft. Mukesh Kumar

The BCCI made headlines on Wednesday with their announcement of the central contracts list for the 2023-24 season. There were a couple of notable absentees, though, including Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.

As many as 11 players have been newly contracted by the BCCI, while seven who were part of the last iteration of the list haven't made the grade this time. Among the 11, there are a few who are perhaps a touch fortunate to still be employed by the board at that level.

Interestingly, there's a criteria for being part of the list, with the board stating in the press release:

"Additionally, athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis.

"For instance, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan, having played 2 Test matches so far, will be inducted into Grade C if they participate in the Dharamsala Test Match, i.e., the 5th Test of the ongoing series against England."

There are a few who have narrowly passed the eligibility criteria, while others have comfortably cleared it but might not even be in the Indian picture when the contract period ends in September 2024.

BCCI Central Contracts List

Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

Grade A: R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.

Grade B: Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, 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.

Here are three Indian players who were lucky to be handed a central contract by the BCCI for the 2023-24 season.

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#3 Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh Kumar pictured during an India net session.

Having played three Tests, six ODIs and 14 T20Is since July 2023, Mukesh Kumar satisfies the criteria needed to be offered a central contract. However, it might not be long before he's ousted from all three formats, and his future with the Indian team is hazy at best.

Mukesh has picked up seven wickets in Tests, five in ODIs and 12 wickets in T20Is. His performances in all three formats have been underwhelming, and he doesn't seem to be cut out for the international level. As a 30-year-old fast bowler, he's unlikely to be in the picture for very long as well.

Mukesh can consider himself fortunate to be part of the central contracts list, and barring a remarkable turnaround, he might not be considered for the next season.

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#2 Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar in action: India v England - 4th Test Match: Day One

Rajat Patidar played his third Test for India in Ranchi recently, qualifying for a Grade C contract. However, his performances in the longest format have been dismal, and he's all set to lose his place in the XI for the Dharamsala Test.

Patidar has managed just 63 runs in six Test innings at an average of 10.5. In the lone ODI he played against South Africa, he made 22. The 30-year-old is yet to feature in the shortest format for the country and hasn't even been close to a place in the side ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Given that Patidar is unlikely to be in the thick of things going forward, he arguably didn't merit a central contract. Had he not qualified for the same with his appearance in Ranchi, things could've gone down an entirely different route.

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#1 KS Bharat

A KS Bharat banner is displayed: India v England - 2nd Test Match: Day Two

KS Bharat has played only one format for India. He has featured in seven Tests, with 221 runs at an average of 20.09. The keeper-batter has never crossed the 50-run mark in international cricket.

Having lost his place in the side to Dhruv Jurel, Bharat's future at the top level is hanging in the balance. If Rishabh Pant returns, it's safe to say that Pant and Jurel will be the team's two keepers going forward, with others like KL Rahul in the mix as well.

Moreover, Bharat has virtually no chance of being capped in white-ball cricket anytime soon. He may already have played his last game for India, and him being part of the central contracts is something that might not transpire for too long.