MS Dhoni's Grade A contract baffles Rameez Raja

What’s the story?

Former Pakistan batsman Rameez Raja feels bemused by MS Dhoni been given the Grade A contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. MS Dhoni retired from Test Cricket back in 2014, but continues to play limited formats for the national side.

Speaking at the MCC world cricket committee at Lords on Tuesday (July 4), Raza said, “You have to acknowledge and respect the status of Test match cricket and it has to come from the cricket boards, in Asia specifically. For example, MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket yet got the A-grade contract from the BCCI, Shahid Afridi retired from Test cricket yet got the A-grade contract from PCB.”

Raja also focused on the overbearing effect that T20 leagues on Test cricket and urged for changes to be made in the planning as well as scheduling of games for the longest format of cricket.

"It is under a lot of stress in Asia but if we have a properly planned Test match championship, that's the way out of this, otherwise we will be struggling to put aside as much money as is available for the T20 leagues," he added.

In case you didn’t know...

MS Dhoni retired in the middle of the India-Australia Test series in Australia

Dhoni, who now plays under the captaincy of Virat Kohli in ODIs and T20s, has had his grade A contract questioned before. Ramchandra Guha, who was a part of the BCCI panel, resigned from his post in the midst of the ICC Champions Trophy.

In the fiery letter that he wrote to Vinod Rai, who is the Chairman of the CoA, Guha bashed Indian cricket’s superstar culture and annihilated Dhoni getting the best contract in spite of not playing an entire format.

The details

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum was also a part of the assembly and he, too, expressed concerns about the future of Test cricket and said that AB de Villiers’ absence from the format is a “red flag” for the longest form of the game.

Mike Brearley, a former English first-class cricketer, went a step further and said that T20 leagues are not only harming Test cricket, but also international cricket in general. He emphasised on the importance of the best players playing for the national team for competition to thrive at the highest level.

What’s next?

In ICC’s meet in London last month, the possibility of both Test and ODI leagues was supported by the committee. The Test league is proposed to start in 2019, where the top nine teams will contest over a series of 12 home and away Tests over a span of four years.

Significant efforts like this will substantiate international cricket to put it back to the highest pedestal for all international and budding cricketers.

Author’s take

As far as Dhoni’s grade A contract goes, it is based on the man’s stature in Indian cricket more than anything else. It would’ve been the same had the 35-year-old quit limited-overs cricket before Test cricket. Hence, relating his high contract to the denting popularity of Test cricket might not be the right way to go.

However, Raja is right on the money with respect to his concerns for the longest format of the game. Both ICC and the respective boards of all the cricketing nations need to seek a way of adding context and creation to international cricket, and initiatives like Test leagues are the perfect for the same.