The formal and final decision on BCCI’s annual central contract list is further delayed as no meeting, widely reported in the media to get underway on Saturday in Guwahati, ever happened. Per the latest reports, neither chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, nor BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia met in the city.

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"All decisions have been deferred," a source close to the information revealed in a chat with Cricbuzz.

Although the decision makers haven’t formally discussed the player grades this weekend, there are indications that the BCCI will take a final call on it sooner, alongside deciding the tenure of Team India’s extended coaching staff. 

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Meanwhile, Gautam returned home on Friday after holidaying overseas but was in his hometown in Delhi on Saturday. Besides, there was no report of head coach Agarkar travelling to Guwahati, although the selectors are travelling to Assam for IPL games. 

Guwahati was scheduled to host two games this season, with the first already contested on March 26, which the touring Kolkata Knight Riders won, and the second is on Sunday evening between the hosts Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.

Who comes in, who goes out?

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A handful of changes might headline BCCI’s new annual central contract list, with some demotions and promotions taking place. While all eyes will be on Shreyas Iyer, who will return after facing an axe from last season’s list for not honouring domestic duties, the same cannot be said about his fellow India gloveman Ishan Kishan.

Though several reports suggested that Shubman Gill could be promoted to the A+ category – reserved for only top performers and those who play all formats, with only ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah retaining his place, Ravichandran Ashwin, who announced his international retirement late last year, will be dropped from the A category. Besides him, ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, all three who announced T20I retirements last year, could be demoted to the A category per the BCCI rules.

However, Varun Chakaravarthy, who played a crucial role in helping India win the Champions Trophy in Dubai, will be considered for retainership as he meets the eligibility criteria. Per BCCI rules, "athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of 3 Tests, 8 ODIs, or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis."

Meanwhile, there were 30 players in last year’s retainership, including four in the A+ category, six in the A category, five in B and the remaining 15 in the C grade. 

(With inputs from agencies)