Teams look to consolidate towards World T20

Match facts

Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)

Nathan McCullum is in ominous form with both bat and ball going into the T20s © Associated Press

Big Picture

It should perhaps go without saying at this stage in the tour, but once again, rain shapes to be the defining influence of the match. The past two days in Pallekele have been hot and humid, before rain has arrived after dusk, around the time the match is scheduled to begin. Tuesday's forecast is for more of the same.

But if the weather relents long enough to allow a result, both teams have concrete goals for the series. Sri Lanka's first task will be to protect their No. 1 ranking, having maintained it for over a year now. Their longevity atop the points table is perhaps as much a reflection of the infrequency of Twenty20 cricket as Sri Lanka's affinity for it, but it has been a point of pride for the side in a lean year of cricket. They need one win in the two matches to keep their top ranking, unless both matches are washed out.

New Zealand have four Twenty20s scheduled before the World T20 in Bangladesh, which begins this March and this series will be another exercise in building depth. James Neesham and Neil Broom had had match-winning turns for Otago in the Champions League, and if picked, both men will hope to replicate their results on turning pitches, and secure a place in the side bound for the World T20. In Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor's absence, men like Luke Ronchi and Colin Munro have the opportunity to capture the attention of the selectors.

The hosts, however, will seek to finalise their combination for the World T20. They had rotated the seniors to free up a space for a young player in their last T20 series, but captain Dinesh Chandimal has suggested his team will play its best XI this time.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

 Sri Lanka: WLLWW
New Zealand: WWLWL



In the spotlight

Doubts about Dinesh Chandimal's aptitude for T20 have been voiced since he was appointed Sri Lanka's captain in the format in February, and though Sri Lanka have only played four T20s since, his ODI form does not suggest fluency in limited-overs cricket. As the team now embarks on the home stretch to the World T20, he must prove to himself, and his team, that he deserves a place in the side he leads.

Nathan McCullum's cricket has gathered steam over the back end of New Zealand's trip to the subcontinent. In Hambantota, he walloped 32 off 9 balls to effect an unlikely win, and in Dambulla, he removed Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara within three balls, and had sparked worry in the opposition, when he blasted another 35 not out with the bat. After that match, Kyle Mills had spoken of the team's confidence in him to finish matches, and Sri Lanka will be aware that even if New Zealand's top order goes cheaply, an in-form match-winner lurks lower down.

Pitch and conditions

The Pallekele pitch has tended to provide assistance to seam bowling under lights, though on occasion it has also been a happy venue for spinners. If rain is in the air, teams may choose to bowl first, reasoning that it is more difficult to defend a total with a wet ball.

Team news

Ramith Rambukwella and Seekkuge Prasanna have been added to Sri Lanka's squad, but it's unlikely they will appear in the XI, unless injury rules a spinner out. Having sat in the dressing room throughout the ODI series, Kusal Perera may be in line for a game at the expense of Lahiru Thirimanne, even if Jayawardene continues to open the innings. But Ajantha Mendis is likely come into the side.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera/ Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 7. Thisara Perera, 8. Nuwan Kulasekara, 9. Sachithra Senanayake, 10. Lasith Malinga, 11. Ajantha Mendis

Neil Broom has a chance of figuring in New Zealand's top order, while Anton Devcich may find his place under threat from Hamish Rutherford after three poor innings in the ODIs. Corey Anderson's absence means Neesham will almost certainly play, while Andrew Ellis' place is less secure.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Anton Devcich/ Hamish Rutherford, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Neil Broom, 4 Grant Elliott, 5 Colin Munro, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 James Neesham, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Andrew Ellis, 10 Kyle Mills (capt), 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Stats and trivia

• As an opener, Mahela Jayawardene averages 42.57 and has a strike rate of 138.52. Like in ODIs, these figures are substantially better than his returns lower down the order.
• In five matches in Pallekele, New Zealand have been involved in two ties. Both times, during last year's World T20, they lost in the Super Over.

Quotes

"We experimented by resting some senior players in the last series, but we have only another six T20 internationals to play prior to the T20 World Cup, so we don't want to experiment too much."
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal is intent on using all his resources

"When it comes to T20 it's a pretty even bunch. On the day if somebody is going to have a good performance, they will contribute to the team which hopefully will win. You can't have a clear stand out team in the T20 format."
New Zealand acting captain Kyle Mills doesn't read too much into the rankings for this format

Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here

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Watson returns to bowling crease

Shane Watson considers himself a strong chance of resuming at the bowling crease during the first Ashes Test, the major question a matter of when. In the latter phase of his recovery from a hamstring strain, Watson took his first tentative steps towards bowling at Allan Border Field on Monday, and will build up further as the Test creeps closer to the toss on Thursday morning.

Watson told ESPNcricinfo he was keen to bowl in the critical first encounter of a series in which he will hope to play a pivotal role with bat and ball, but was also enjoying the fact he was not under pressure to be fit to bowl on the first morning of the match, in contrast to last summer when he was left out of the team to face South Africa for two Tests on the basis that he needed to bowl to earn his place.

"It was nice to be able to roll my arm over and see how I pull up tomorrow, which I'm sure will be okay, and just gradually building it up to see what capacity I'll be at for the Test match," Watson said. "Potentially absolutely [I will bowl in the Test], the great thing is the pressure's not on me to make sure I'm pushing to bowl on day one if we bowl.

"It will just depend on how I continue to go over the next few days and get a gauge on what capacity I'll be able to play. Everything's progressing really well at the moment, but I'm not putting a huge expectation on me being able to bowl a huge amount in the first innings, it is more seeing how it progresses to get the balance right between getting as close to full capacity as I can without heightening the risk of re-injury."

Australia's physio Alex Kountouris had opened the possibility of the allrounder being able to reach his top gear at some point during the match. While Watson's bowling was decidedly gentle, off a handful of steps, the sight of his return to the crease re-opened the hosts' selection options for Brisbane as they ponder the inclusion of Nathan Lyon or James Faulkner.

The hamstring strain occurred during the final match of the recent ODI series in India when Watson was moving into his delivery stride at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Watson said he was not inconvenienced by batting or running, leaving only the motion of bowling his fast medium swing and seam to be negotiated at training.

"Doing running between the wickets has been absolutely fine so far, it's mainly just the bowling aspect, how I initially hurt it, which is trying to get that perfect balance," Watson said. "If I'm not feeling it batting-wise like I did during that last one-dayer then I'm certainly confident it won't get hurt batting."

Kountouris, who has groaned and grimaced as much as anyone over Watson's litany of calf and hamstring ailments in recent years, offered an optimistic view of his recovery, noting that the fact he had been bowling consistently until suffering the strain meant less strength and conditioning work would be required to get him up to speed. This contrasted with the bowling coach Craig McDermott's view that a return in Brisbane would be unlikely, leaving Watson and his captain Michael Clarke to consider their options.

"The thing is he's only stopped bowling two weeks ago," Kountouris said. "He could just as easily have had a rest for 10 days and then come back to bowling so we're not too worried about building him up with workloads. He's going well with his rehab, he's on track to play the game obviously, he was running today, he's been running since last week. He did a little bit of bowling today so that's in the infancy but he's going well at the moment.

"He's on track to be bowling in the next week so which means he might bowl in this Test match if he keeps making good progress. He hasn't had a long-term injury, so getting him up and going again is the most important thing and really he's just got to get through a couple of sessions and then he can bowl some balls in the game. Probably not going to bowl 40 overs, but he can bowl some balls."

	Shane Watson delivered linking spells usefully in England © Getty Images Enlarge

Watson's fitness to bowl has implications for plenty of players around him in the Gabba squad. If he is unable to fulfil the duties of the fourth seamer the position of Lyon comes under increasing threat, given the likelihood of a grassy surface due to recent heavy rain around Brisbane and the presence of Steven Smith and Clarke as potential part-time spinners.

However, a clean bill of bowling health would permit Clarke to employ Watson in the linking spells he delivered so usefully in England, allowing the pace vanguard of Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson some respite while allowing greater latitude for Lyon's flighted offbreaks.

"I was batting at the time but I heard he bowled and they came out well so everything's okay," Smith said. "Hopefully he pulls up well tomorrow and can do a bit more because he's certainly going to be valuable if we can get 10 overs out of him in an innings at the Gabba. He was invaluable in England and if he do that again here it will be great for us."

Lyon possesses a fine record in the two Tests he has played in Brisbane, scooping 11 wickets at an average of 24.09 across matches against New Zealand and South Africa. Typically team-oriented, Lyon said he would be happy to bowl tightly on a surface more favourable to fast bowlers.

"That's going to have to come down to the conditions," Lyon said. "If it's turning a lot I'll be more attacking, but if it's not turning as much and if it's seaming I might be thrown the ball to do a containing and holding role so we can rotate our fast men from the other end and try to create some pressure. That's going to be game-dependent, and talking to Pup (Clarke) when and if that circumstance arises.

"I'm happy to do whatever role it takes for Australia to win a Test match. I'm all for the team, I don't care who's taking the wickets. If Ryan Harris takes five and six wickets, I take none for the game and we win the Test match I'm over the moon. I'm happy with whatever role Michael Clarke comes up with and hopefully I'll be able to take that and help get wickets from both ends."

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here

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Sri Lanka bring in Rambukwella, Prasanna for T20s

Ramith Rambukwella will hope to make an international debut © Manoj Ridimahaliyadda

Offspinning allrounder Ramith Rambukwella and legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna have been named in Sri Lanka's squad for the two Twenty20s against New Zealand in Pallekele. Rambukwella, 22, had been selected in the national squad during the Bangladesh series in March, but did not get a match. Prasanna, however, has played a Test and nine ODIs, with the most recent in March 2012.

Both men had been penetrative with the ball during Kenya's recent Twenty20 series against the Sri Lanka A team. They had also each won a List A match against New Zealand A in early October. Rambukwella took five wickets at 11.60 in that series, and Prasanna took six at 16. That New Zealand A team featured Colin Munro, Grant Elliott, Anton Devcich, Andrew Ellis and Luke Ronchi, all of whom are in the New Zealand squad for the Twenty20s.

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne, middle-order batsman Ashan Priyanjan and spinner Rangana Herath were omitted from the squad, having been with the team for the ODI series. Karunaratne had failed in two attempts in the series, while Herath has increasingly been left out of the T20 team. Priyanjan is yet to make his international debut.

Sri Lanka had rotated its senior batsmen during their last Twenty20 series against South Africa, but Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan have all been named in the side. Kusal Perera has also been retained from the ODI side.

The series is set to begin on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka squad: Dinesh Chandimal (capt.), Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ramith Rambukwella, Suranga Lakmal, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara

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Injured Corey Anderson to return home

Corey Anderson is being flown back as a precautionary measure © AFP

New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour to begin rehabilitation on the rib injury which ruled him out of the second ODI in Hambantota.

Anderson underwent an MRI scan of his side on Wednesday, which ruled out any major damage. He is being flown back to New Zealand as a precautionary measure and will miss the third and final ODI on Saturday and the two T20s.

"Corey felt pain in his right side while bowling during the first ODI. Post-match assessment indicated a minor case of rib impingement," New Zealand physiotherapist Paul Close said. "We decided it's in Corey's best interest to return home and focus on making a full recovery for the series against West Indies."

New Zealand did seek any replacement for Anderson for the remaining games. New Zealand lead the three-match ODI series 1-0.

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Tendulkar 38* after West Indies fold for 182

India 157 for 2 (Vijay 43, Tendulkar 38*) trail West Indies 182 (Powell 48, Ojha 5-40, Ashwin 3-45) by 25 runs

Pragyan Ojha took his sixth five-for to skittle out West Indies © BCCI

Rarely have fans of a team in as dominant a position as India were at the Wankhede Stadium felt this tense. In the first two sessions, West Indies had served up another dose of inept batting to roll over for 182, and then India's openers battered 77 at nearly a run-a-ball. That's when Shane Shillingford struck twice in an over, to the delirious cheers of the home fans, and brought Sachin Tendulkar to the batting crease, perhaps for the final time.

The knowledge that one false stroke could mark the end of the career of India's best-loved cricketer made it a nerve-wracking experience, even for the lucky few who had managed to wrangle hard-to-find tickets. Whether Tendulkar felt a similar anxiety or not, he produced an innings of such composure that some fans wondered why he had announced his retirement. In about 80 minutes in the middle, he showed off some of his signature strokes including the classical cover drive and the effortless punch down the ground.

The day began with a series of tributes to Tendulkar - the BCCI president N Srinivasan handed him a memento, a painted portrait was presented to him, the West Indies side gave him a framed autographed shirt, the coin at the toss was specially minted in his likeness - and ended with fans euphoric over having watched him bat one more time. And, as has always been the case with Tendulkar, they were hoping for one more century from the man who already has 51 of them in Tests.

West Indies were hoping for a century from at least one of their batsmen as well. Every Darren Sammy press conference is littered with talk about sensible batting, the need to shelve rash strokes and for the team to grind out overs. No one seems to be getting the message, least of all the captain himself, as for the third innings in a row this series, West Indies made a reasonable start before utterly collapsing.

After being asked to bat by MS Dhoni - a decision that surprised the experts - West Indies had progressed to 93 for 2 at lunch, and having played out the traditionally difficult early hours and the new ball, should have been looking for a substantial score. Instead, they slid from 140 for 3 to 182 all out as India's spin pair of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha ripped through the batting.

It wasn't an easy surface to bat on, with Ashwin extracting bounce and turn in the first session itself. The new-look opening pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami constantly attacked the stumps and had the ball swerving both ways. Still, it doesn't excuse a shocking batting display from the visitors though the fans absolutely loved it and the chants of 'We want Sachin' became deafening as the wickets tumbled.

Though Chris Gayle was undone by a rearing delivery early, Kieran Powell survived a nervy start and a straightforward chance at slip and put together the only substantial partnership of the West Indies innings with Darren Bravo. Bravo had a torrid time against Bhuvneshwar, nearly lbw twice after not offering shots to successive deliveries. He decided the best way out was to attack, and produced a couple of gorgeous hits off Ashwin, but the bowler won their battle with a delivery that spun and bounced which had Bravo caught-behind.

After lunch, there were a couple of rare sights. First, an Indian quick was operating with four slips and a gully as Shami tried to induce Marlon Samuels to drive outside off. Samuels played a bunch of loose strokes, eventually nicking a flighted delivery from Ojha to slips.

Then, in another surprise, Chanderpaul - the man known more for his crease-occupation skills than his big hitting - came out looking to attack. He slammed his second ball for six over midwicket, and was always on the lookout for the quick single. He was dismissed by perhaps the ball of the innings from Bhuvneshwar, who got it to pitch around middle and zip across, forcing Chanderpaul to play, resulting in a nick to the slips.

That was followed by the worst shot of the innings. Sammy, already facing plenty of criticism over his place in the side, tried to slog across the line on his second delivery to hole out for a duck. After that, it was only a matter of time as Ashwin and Ojha made use of the helpful conditions to slice through West indies' brittle tail. The only blemish in the innings for India was the three regulation chances put down at slip.

M Vijay made amends for one of those misses with a stroke-filled innings. Shikhar Dhawan continued to find international cricket easy, hitting boundaries at will as India's openers made the pitch and bowling look docile. Dhawan holed out attempting to sweep a ball from outside off and two balls later Vijay was caught at bat-pad - cue possibly the loudest cheer for a home team losing a wicket, as Tendulkar walked out to a guard of honour and events of the first five hours of play were largely forgotten.

Siddarth Ravindran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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The crowd at Tendulkar's feet

Manjrekar - 'Sachin played Shillingford well'

At 3.31pm, M Vijay gets out to a bat-pad catch off Shane Shillingford. There are about 20 overs to go to stumps. Two wickets are down. You don't expect a nightwatchman, with so much time to go, but sometimes people expect the worst. They all look towards the Indian dressing room. A support staff person moves about. There is no sight of either the regular No.4 or a nightwatchman. People keep looking. No signs. Anticipation builds. Tension builds. Suddenly someone realises the umpires have asked Vijay to wait because they are checking the legitimacy of the delivery. A minute has passed, and now someone has realised that. Time has stopped in India once again. Perhaps one last time, who knows?

There are old folk in the crowd, old enough to be his father, who might have seen him as the curly-haired kid in the maidans. Middle-aged people who have given up work today, who have grown with him, who have lived their lives with him as a part of them. Eighteen to 20-year olds who weren't even born when he debuted. Not a single person is sitting. Then they see Vijay has been given the marching orders, 25,000 heads - the loudest 25,000 you can ever imagine - turn to the dressing room. Two wickets have fallen in this over, but nobody is bothered.

	People are so busy counting his steps down the pavilion stairs they haven't even noticed the West Indies team have already formed a guard of honour for him © BCCI Enlarge

Vijay has become Shillingford's victim twice, twice he has come back flexing his elbow, but nobody has read into the reaction because they are too busy waiting to give the next man in the best possible welcome. So Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar puts on his arm guard, helmet, then gloves, and gets up. Now he comes into public view, and people lose control. They are so busy counting his steps down the pavilion stairs they haven't even noticed the West Indies team have already formed a guard of honour for him. Cheteshwar Pujara, the unbeaten batsman, has joined in. The umpires join in too.

There walks Tendulkar. Possibly for the last time, because the West Indies batsmen haven't turned up in this series. He looks up to adjust to the outside light. Shakes the hand of the West Indies captain, Darren Sammy. Raises his bat to the opposition who earlier in the day gifted him a jersey signed by all of them. Nods once again in acknowledgement.

Tendulkar now bends, picks a piece of the soil, touches it on the peak of his forehead, and sort of crosses his heart. One of the umpires now gives Tendulkar the proper guard. By the time everything has settled down and Tendulkar faces his first ball, it's 3.35pm. Slow over-rate? Nobody cares.

Shillingford bowls, Tendulkar defends with the turn, it reaches on the bounce to short leg. People worry, people go quiet. "A mini heart-attack," one man shouts. Tendulkar defends the next ball, and the over is done.

It's 3.37pm when the next over starts. Six minutes, two balls, countless emotions. Now Pujara takes strike. Now Pujara cuts. Half-cut, half-punch. Past point for four. The crowd goes "Sachiiiiiin, Sachin". Now Pujara drives exquisitely through cover for four. The crowd goes "Sachiiiiin, Sachin". Pujara plays the whole over, but a man invokes the underworld classic, Satya, and shouts "Mumbai ka king kaun? [Who is the king of Mumbai]?" The whole stand replies, "Sachiiiiin, Sachin". "Cricket ka king kaun?" "Sachiiiiin, Sachin."

It's been 10 minutes since they stood up in the stands. Not one person has sat down. Shillingford starts a fresh over. Long-on back, a slip and two short legs in. Tendulkar stands tall, bat in air, squats, then the bat touches down once before the ball is delivered. He sweeps, and a cheer as loud as when India won the World Cup here more than two years ago goes up. We won't have another Bradman. Or maybe we will in the next innings.

You have got to keep in mind that this is a batsman who last scored a Test century in the first week of 2011. Averages 32 since then. Many Indians have argued over the last year that he has overstayed his welcome. The farewell series has been made garish by tasteless administrators trying to milk it. Then you watch this, and wonder what a loss it would have been had he gone without giving people this opportunity.

Forget the garishness. Forget that the opposition has left its Test-match temperament at the customs. Let's escape ephemerally once again. Let's lose ourselves again. Let's forget the last local train before peak-hour traffic. Let's applaud a forward-defensive like a goal.

So Tendulkar defends and we applaud. Then he takes a single to move to 3 off 9. In the next over, Shillingford provides a short ball, which he cuts away for four. About the 100-odd people who had sat down are back up again. They are watching from the terrace of the nearby Income Tax building. The big screen now shows Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar's coach, and Rajni Tendulkar, his mother, who are also here. They are both in wheelchairs now. How proud they must be.

	The farewell series has been made garish by tasteless administrators trying to milk it. Then you watch this, and wonder what a loss it would have been had he gone without giving people this opportunity

Slowly, Tendulkar finds the rhythm. He is looking as assured as he has done in this year. He is also getting into the last-dance spirit. The 14th ball he faces, he reaches its pitch and drives it against the turn, because the gaps are on the off side. Past mid-off it goes. Tendulkar 12 off 14. India? It doesn't matter.

By now, every possible rhythmical chant "Sachin" can be made into has been chanted. "Sachiiiiin, Sachin." "Saaaaaachin." "Sachin, Sachin-Sachin-Sachin, Saaaachin." How come no one is out of tune when they chant his name?

This is the same ground where Tendulkar made his first-class debut. Lalchand Rajput, who was run out for 99 batting with Tendulkar, is here. Shishir Hattangadi, the opener in that match, is here. Many players who made their first-class debuts after that are here. Ashok Patel, the bowler who got him out for the first time in first-class cricket, and now lives in the US, has also come here. The Wankhede has changed completely. From the intimate concrete bowl it has now become a classy monster. Tendulkar is still there. Possibly one last time, but he is still batting. A banner in Wankhede says, "Now only humans will play cricket."

Cheteshwar Pujara's sole purpose in life by now is to take the single, and hand over the strike to Tendulkar. Once he drives to long-on, and Mexican wave dies abruptly because Tendulkar is now on strike. Tendulkar is looking solid. Moving right forward in defence against the quicks. Staying back to Shillingford because he hasn't been the best at reading the doosra, so he wants to give himself time to adjust to them off the pitch. He clips Marlon Samuels off the toes in the 27th over, and with that reaches 29 off 45. In his next over, Samuels pitches short, and he punches it to reach 33 off 52.

Tino Best, in the meantime, lobs a throw direct into the stumps at Tendulkar's end. The whole crowd goes "aye aye", which in Mumbai doesn't mean yes. It is their way of pulling someone up. Someone who is threatening their boy. Tendulkar, 40, is still their boy. They will protect him. When Best bowls a bouncer. When Best goes too far in the follow-through. "Tino sucks," shouts one stand. "Shush," goes the rest of the stadium. Best does a namaste [folded hands] as he walks back to his fielding position at fine leg, and all is well between him and the crowd.

The crowd actually couldn't be bothered less. They have come here to watch Tendulkar bat. They want to return tomorrow to watch him bat. They also want him to take most of the bowling left. Story of Tendulkar's life. Realistic expectations and him don't go together.

At 4.54pm, Tendulkar has played out the last ball of the day. He is 38 off 73. Pujara is 34 off 49, and has played some pretty decent shots, but no one has noticed. He could have streaked, and no one would have noticed. It's all forgiven this last time. You can focus on that man's batting alone, especially given he has batted well.

For about 10 seconds, Tendulkar looks at the pitch, waits for Pujara to join him, and then walks back. He raises the bat as he does. That's his promise. Time will stop tomorrow again.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

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No central contract for Zaheer, Sehwag

Manjrekar: 'Committee willing to make hard decisions'

BCCI's retainer list for 2013-14 Grade A (Rs 1 crore/USD 158,000 approx): Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Suresh Raina Grade B (Rs 50 lakh/USD 79,000 approx): Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rohit Sharma Grade C (Rs 25 lakh/USD 40,000 approx): Dinesh Karthik, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Vinay Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohit Sharma

Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh find themselves out of a central contract for the 2013-14 season, while Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh find themselves downgraded in the BCCI's retainer list, released on Thursday.

Suresh Raina is the surprise inclusion among the five players in the highest grade; the others are captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, R Ashwin and Virat Kohli.

The list also features five players who were not rewarded with a contract last year. They are Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Grade B), Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Jaydev Unadkat and Mohit Sharma (all in Group C).

	Zaheer, Harbhajan and Sehwag: out of a central contract © Getty Images Enlarge

While Zaheer and Sehwag featured in Grade A last year, Harbhajan was included in Grade B. ESPNcricinfo understands that they were axed because none of them is assured of a place in the team in any of the three formats. Their exclusion need not, however, be the end of their career, because BCCI rules say that any non-contracted player who features in any international match during the contract period is awarded a Grade C contract for the rest of the tenure.

Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay have been upgraded from Grade C to B for their "exceptional" performance in the last contract cycle, while Rahane's demotion on the reverse route was due to the fact that he has failed to make most of his limited opportunities.

Tendulkar's mention in Grade A may have raised quite a few eyebrows since the veteran batsman is playing is making his last international appearance during India's second Test against the West Indies. However, since the annual retainers are awarded on a pro-rata basis, Tendulkar would be eligible for two months' compensation since the beginning of the retainer cycle in October. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were also named in the top category and were paid proportionately during the 2011-12 cycle.

The list has been pruned from 37 last season to 25, the BCCI's rationale apparently being that many players had started taking an annual retainer for granted. "The list was extended last year in order to give fringe players the confidence. But now the Board feels only those who are in line of an India call-up should be awarded an annual retainer," a Board official said.

The contracts, decided by a three-member committee of the BCCI comprising president (N Srinivasan), secretary (Sanjay Patel) and chairman of selectors (Sandeep Patil), run from October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014.

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