5 players from the previous BCCI central contract list who have been omitted now ft. Cheteshwar Pujara & Shikhar Dhawan

Seven players who were part of the BCCI's last central contracts list have been omitted from the same for the 2023-24 season, with the board announcing the names of the 30 players on Wednesday, February 28.

The most notable exclusions were Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who have landed in hot water with the BCCI due to various alleged reasons. They "were not considered" according to the press release.

Shreyas and Ishan weren't the only players to be excluded from the list. Certain veterans who have served the team well over the years but have fallen out of favor in recent times also found themselves without a spot.

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 five Indian players who were part of the last central contracts list but have been excluded now.

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#5 Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara bats: Durham v Sussex - LV= Insurance County Championship

Cheteshwar Pujara played his last Test for India in June 2023, and it doesn't seem like he is in their plans for the future despite a prolific run in domestic cricket.

One of India's greatest-ever Test batters, Pujara has featured in 103 red-ball matches for the country and returned 7195 runs at an average of 43.6. He has tallied 35 fifties and 19 centuries in what is regarded as the toughest format of the game.

However, with India moving to a younger side, Pujara's sustained lack of form brought about his exclusion. It would be a massive surprise to see him part of the contracts list for the next season.

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#4 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan in action: New Zealand v India - 3rd ODI

Like Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan was active in only one format for the national side before losing his place to the younger generation. Shubman Gill replaced the veteran southpaw, who hasn't played international cricket since December 2022, in the ODI setup.

Dhawan has played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is for the Men in Blue. In the 50-over format, easily the one in which he has achieved the most success, he has scored 6793 runs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35.

Dhawan struggled to adjust to the run-scoring demands of the modern ODI game, with a middling 2022 resulting in the selectors moving on. He may not be able to make a comeback, even though he will captain the Punjab Kings in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).

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#3 Umesh Yadav

Umesh exults: Australia v India - ICC World Test Championship Final 2023: Day Three

The new World Test Championship cycle has seen India blood in the youth, and Umesh Yadav has been among those discarded. The fast bowler last appeared for the national team in June, just like Pujara.

A veteran of 57 Tests, Umesh has picked up 170 wickets at an average of 30.95 in the format. He came into his own in home conditions and averages an impressive 25.58 in India.

Umesh did play a T20I in 2022, but that was a stop-gap measure and he was never in the limited-overs picture. Interestingly, while he might get to feature heavily for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024, an international comeback seems far-fetched.

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#2 Deepak Hooda

Deepak Hooda cuts: New Zealand v India - 3rd T20

The youngest player on this list, Deepak Hooda is more than a year away from his 30th birthday. However, a poor run of form has resulted in the batting all-rounder being dropped from the BCCI central contracts list.

Hooda last played a T20I for India in February 2023 and didn't play a single ODI during the previous calendar year. His wretched IPL form for the Lucknow Super Giants severely dented his chances of continuing to be part of the Indian team, and his recent domestic form has been capricious too.

Hooda still has time on his side, so he could return to contention in the coming years.

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#1 Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal celebrates: West Indies v India - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

It's been a long time coming, but India seem to have finally moved on from Yuzvendra Chahal. The leg-spinner last played a T20I in August 2023 and wasn't in the ODI picture in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Chahal is the country's leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket, with 96 scalps to his name in 80 matches at an economy rate of 8.19. He has done decently in ODIs as well, but his form over the last few years has been quite unconvincing.

With names like Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi excelling, the selectors rightly pulled the plug on Chahal's international involvement. The 33-year-old might still feature for the Men in Blue, but a central contract could elude him in the future as well.