The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has earned praise for recognising the recent rise in the crop of pacers in the country by introducing fast bowling contracts as part of the BCCI Central Contract 2024.

Bengal's Akash Deep recently made his debut in the fourth Test against England in Ranchi, where he claimed three wickets in the first innings, while Umran Malik has already played for the national side in the limited over formats. The Jammu & Kashmir speedster Umran Malik was drafted into the Indian team after his stint for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022. But, the young quick has lost his place in the national side. However, being added as part of this group will give him some hope to make a return. Karnataka pace duo of Vyshak Vijaykumar and Vidwath Kaverappa as well as Uttar Pradesh left-arm pacer Yash Dayal have been doing well in the domestic cricket in the past few seasons. Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, who has seen the rise of the fast bowlers in recent years during his tenure as the coach and calling the game from the commentary box, took to social media to laud the BCCI and Jay Shah on this "game-changing" move. "Big applause to @BCCI and @JayShah for the game-changing move with 'fast bowling' contracts. A crucial step in gearing up for Down Under later this year. The emphasis on Test Cricket and Domestic Cricket is a powerful message, setting the right tone for the future of our beloved sport," Ravi Shastri wrote on X. Meanwhile, former West Indies pacer and current commentator Ian Bishop also reacted to the news via his social media account, praising the Indian cricket board for the "innovative move". "Very innovative move by India to give out fast-bowling contracts. I am a big fan of that, especially to see Umran Malik's name in that list. Any team that wants to be globally competitive must procure and develop quality fast-bowlers," Bishop posted on X. With the emergence of some fast bowling talent at the recent U19 World Cup, Bishop also called for couple of other country boards to also do the same for their rising stars. "Ideally I'd love to see a couple of other countries do the same with some of the U19 fast bowlers we saw a few weeks ago," Bishop added. Apart from the five rising pacers, the seniors Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna are all among the BCCI Contract 2024. Who are the pacers in BCCI Central Contract 2024?

• Grade A+: Jasprit Bumrah
• Grade A: Mohammed Shami & Mohammed Siraj
• Grade C: Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna & Avesh Khan
• Fast Bowling Contracts: Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal & Vidwath Kaverappa