The expectations from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have gone down, says Saba Karim

Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has said that the expectations from Test batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have gone down slightly. There are reports which suggest that Pujara and Rahane have been demoted from the central contract by the BCCI. The board has four categories in the central contracts ( A+, A, B, C ) that carry the retention fees of seven, five, three and one crore respectively.

Both batters have had a horrific time with the bat in the recently concluded series against South Africa. Rahane could only amass 136 runs averaging just a little above 20, while Pujara's performance with the bat was no different as he accumulated only 124 runs as India went on to lose the series 1-2.

Meanwhile, Karim has said that a player is promoted or demoted according to the last year's performance.

"This does two things from the BCCI's side. You are promoted as an appreciation if you have done well last year or you are demoted if the selectors feel you have not performed. If we keep these criteria, it's clear their performance has not been good last year," said Karim onIndia News.

"The expectations from them have gone down slightly and that is why we are talking about this demotion. But I feel this is also a silver lining for these players. If they are in Grade C, it means the selectors might still think about them in the coming year. It's not that they have been totally sidelined."

Ravindra Jadeja is missing from the A+ category: Saba Karim

The former wicketkeeper feels that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is missing from the exclusive A+ category

"I feel A+ is a very exclusive club. Here I feel we are missing one player, that is Jadeja. He is a player who plays all three formats, he gives match-winning contributions and he has huge importance."