The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday announced the annual player contracts of the senior India women's team for the 2022–23 season, under which captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and all-rounder Deepti Sharma are in Grade A, the highest bracket of the contracts.
Grade B new entrants
Pacer Renuka Singh and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh are the new entrants in the Grade B division, alongside batters Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Grade C entrants
Meanwhile, Grade C has new additions in fast bowlers Meghna Singh and Anjali Sarvani. The right-left arm fast-bowling duo are alongside all-rounders Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Harleen Deol and Devika Vaidya, wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia and right-handed batter Sabbhineni Meghana in Grade C. The retirements of legendary cricketers Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami mean they have expectedly been left out of the contracts list.
Not retained
Other notable omissions from the 17-member contract list include veteran pacer Shikha Pandey, who earned a recall during this year's Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav, who last played for India in March 2022, as well as wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia and fast-bowling all-rounder Arundhati Reddy.
Retainers not specified
The BCCI didn't specify the amount of retainers alongside the different grade structures in its statement. When the contracts were made public last time, Grade A players earned ₹50 lakhs, while Grade B and C players earned ₹30 and ₹10 lakhs, respectively.
India's next international assignment will be a tour of Bangladesh in June for three ODIs and as many T20Is. Previously this month, BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted that the board will soon issue advertisements for various positions in the support staff of the women's team, while stressing that the best coaches will be roped in to help the players realise their full potential and achieve excellence on and off the field.
BCCI Central Contracts List
Grade A: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma
Grade B: Renuka Singh Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Grade C: Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, Sabbineni Meghana, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Yastika Bhatia
