Pujara, Rahane, Hardik Pandya get demoted in BCCI central contracts
Mohali, Mar 2: Out of favour veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara and former Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane were downgraded in the latest central contracts list of the BCCI that was ratified by the Board's Apex Council on Wednesday.
The BCCI has four categories -- A+ which has annual remuneration of Rs 7 crore while A, B and C categories are valued at Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively.
Last time, 28 cricketers were provided central contracts but this year, 27 have been awarded contracts with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah static as A+ players.
Accordingly, Pujara, Rahane and Ishant Sharma, who were in Grade A are now in Grade B, after a slump in form that saw them being dropped from the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka.
That they will be downgraded was reported by PTI on January 20.
Group A, which earlier had 10 players, has now shrunk to five with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami retaining their slots.
The biggest demotion, however, was for injury-ravaged all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been shunted out from Grade A to C in the list along with senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, who now plays only one format and that is ODIs.
Controversial keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who has been dropped from the Test team, will still be richer by Rs 1 crore after being demoted from group B to C.
Saha, who has breached the central contract clause by public comments on selection matters and statements on BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and head coach Rahul Dravid, has been kept in group C even though it has been made clear by the team management that he is unlikely to play for India again.
On the day, ratification happened but this was decided long back that some of the non-performers will be demoted.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Navdeep Saini, who were part of the earlier group, have been dropped from the list altogether.
Mayank Agarwal, who has been inconsistent throughout, has now been demoted to group C from group B.
The ones who have been rewarded are Mohammed Siraj, who is now in group B for his lion-hearted performances while Suryakumar Yadav, by virtue of playing the requisite number of games, is now in group C.
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Anil Ambani appears before ED in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for a second round of questioning in connection with an alleged bank fraud-linked money laundering case.
The 66-year-old businessman entered the federal probe agency's office in central Delhi around 10.30 am.
Officials in the agency said they will record his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was first questioned by the ED in August 2025.
The probe pertains to an alleged over Rs 40,000 crore worth bank fraud by his group company, Reliance Communications (RCOM).
Ambani and his multiple group companies are facing allegations of loan fraud, and the ED recently constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all these instances. The SIT was formed on the recent directions of the Supreme Court.
The ED on Wednesday attached Ambani's Mumbai house, 'Abode', worth Rs 3,716 crore under the anti-money laundering law.
According to information furnished by the ED to the apex court, it has filed three money laundering cases against the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) to investigate charges of bank loan fraud and other financial irregularities.
STORY | Anil Ambani appears before ED in money laundering case
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 26, 2026
Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for a second round of questioning in connection with an alleged bank fraud-linked money laundering case.
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