Cricket News Today: MS Dhoni excluded from Annual Central Contract list, Rishabh Pant to miss second ODI and more- 16th January 2020

Hello and welcome to the daily round-up of all the major stories happening in the cricketing world today.

BCCI announced the Annual Central Contracts announced by the BCCI which has a noticeable omission going by the name of MS Dhoni. Rishabh Pant is set to miss the second ODI to recover from concussions. NZ have announced a 14-man T20I squad to face India while Ravichandran Ashwin will represent Yorkshire Cricket Club in the 2020 county season.

And lastly, Smriti Mandhana talks about the invaluable WBBL experience which will help them in the upcoming T20 WC.

Here is a look at those stories in detail.

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#1 MS Dhoni excluded from BCCI's annual player contracts list

MS Dhoni has not been offered a new contract by the BCCI for the 2019-20 season

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni was excluded from the list of annual central contracts for the season 2019-20 as announced by the BCCI. Dhoni, who hasn't played for the national side since the semi-final defeat to New Zealand, has been in the news ever since.

KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Wriddhiman Saha were promoted from their respective categories due to their consistent performances throughout the year. Ambati Rayudu, Khaleel Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik were other noticeable ommissions from the central contracts.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

BCCI Central Contracts for 2019-20

Grade A+ (INR 7 cr)

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah

Grade A (INR 5 cr)

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant

Also see – U19 world cup schedule

Grade B (INR 3 cr)

Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal

Grade C (INR 1 cr)

Kedar Jadhav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Manish Pandey, Hanuma Vihari, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar

Full article: BCCI announces Annual Player Contracts for 2019-20; Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah handed A+ grade

#2 Rishabh Pant set to miss second ODI

Rishabh Pant

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is set to miss the second ODI against Australia in Rajkot tomorrow due to his recovery from concussion after being hit by a Pat Cummins bouncer in the first ODI.

Pant got hit on the head by a quick short ball from Cummins in the 44th over of the innings which also resulted in his dismissal. He didn't return to keep in Australia's innings as KL Rahul donned the role of wicketkeeper.

BCCI issued a statement:

"He (Pant) is ruled out of the 2nd ODI. His availability for the final ODI will be based on how he responds during the rehabilitation protocol. After getting hit on his helmet while batting in the 1st ODI, Rishabh got a concussion and took no further part in the game. He was then taken to the hospital for overnight monitoring under a specialist. He is stable and all his scan reports are clear. He has been discharged from the hospital and will head to NCA, Bengaluru to undergo his rehabilitation protocol."

Full article: Rishabh Pant ruled out of 2nd ODI against Australia following concussion

#3 New Zealand announce T20I squad to face India

Virat Kohli (left) and Kane Williamson (right)

New Zealand announced a 14-member squad to face India in the five-match T20I series beginning January 24. Hamish Bennett, who has played 16 ODIs and one Test for New Zealand earlier, received a surprise call-up due to his impressive showing the domestic T20 league, Super Smash.

With 14 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 7.06, Bennett successfully impressed the chief of selectors Gavin Larsen who praised the pacer for his all-round bowling prowess.

Larsen stated:

"We're delighted to have Hamish back in the fold for what will be a huge series against India."

"Over the past few seasons he's consistently been one of the top domestic white-ball bowlers and we've been impressed how he's been able to evolve his game... We all know he brings good pace and bounce but it's the clever variations he's added that make him such a well-rounded T20 bowler."

New Zealand T20I Squad

Kane Williamson (c), Hamish Bennett, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner, Tom Bruce (matches 4-5) Colin de Grandhomme (matches 1-3)

The team will face India in all formats starting on Friday January 24th 📅5 x T20Is3 x ODIs2 x Tests📺@skysportnz🎧@radiosportnz📲NZC AppTickets | https://t.co/ZQUpfdCn0k pic.twitter.com/EB1hJEm3aW

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 8, 2020

Full article: Kane Williamson returns as Kiwis announce T20I squad for series against India

#4 Ravichandran Ashwin signs for Yorkshire

Ashwin will feature for Yorkshire in the 2020 County Championship Season in eight games

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will feature in the 2020 country season playing for Yorkshire Cricket Club. Ashwin will be eligible to play after serving the mandatory rest period post IPL. Ashwin will follow in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar and will play eight-match for them.

Ashwin has taken 54 county championship wickets for Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire and will be replacing SA's, Keshav Maharaj.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Yorkshire, a club with a wonderful history and a fantastic fan base."

"I know a lot about Yorkshire and to follow in the footsteps of Sachin (Tendulkar), who played for the county many years ago is a wonderful feeling for me."

"I love playing first-class cricket and have enjoyed my two previous spells with Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire. My role will be to score runs and take wickets but it will be a collective effort if we are to win the title."

Full article: Yorkshire sign Ravichandran Ashwin for 2020 County Championship season

#5 WBBL exposure will help India, reckons Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana believes that WBBL experience would help team India a lot in the T20 World Cup

Indian opener Smriti Mandhana has stated that playing in the Big Bash League will prove to be of invaluable experience while preparing for their game T20 WC opener against Australia in February.

Mandhana has a strike-rate of 117.01 along with 10 fifties in T20Is and thinks that along with Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, WBBL's exposure will come in handy during the big event. India reached the semi-finals of the last event in the Caribbean and Mandhana wants to take further steps to clinch the title.

“The exposure that we get playing the other big leagues help. We understand a lot about the T20I format. And especially you get to play all the bowlers beforehand, before appearing in the World Cup. Having played the Big Bash League, we will know the conditions better, specially Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur] and I. We will be able to pass on the knowledge to the youngsters.”

“This time, I have kept it quite simple. I don’t really need to stress myself with the thought that there is a World Cup. I want to be calm and composed."

“I am just going to play a cricket tournament to enjoy my batting. That’s the key thing which has given me success and I will try to do that in the World Cup too.”

Full article: WBBL exposure will help India, reckons Smriti Mandhana