The Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) has finally announced the much-awaited Player Contracts for the Indian Women’s team. BCCI’s retainers for the finest women cricketing talents will be applicable for the 2022-23 season.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has retained her position in the Grade A contracts. Harmanpreet has been in astounding form in the ongoing season and she also led the Mumbai Indians franchise to their maiden Women’s Premier League title. Apart from Kaur, flamboyant frontline batter Smriti Mandhana has also retained her place in the Grade A bracket.
Interestingly, ace all-rounder Deepti Sharma has attained a major breakthrough in her career as she has been promoted to the Grade A contracts. Deepti has been absolutely convincing for India across all three formats of the game. Unfortunately, veteran spinner Poonam Yadav who was a Grade A player has missed out on her retention and has not been awarded a contract.
In the Grade B contracts, performing athletes Jemimah Rodrigues, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Shafali Varma have retained their spots. Emerging wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh has stormed into the newly introduced Player Contracts by directly being named in the Grade B contracts.
Notably, Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav have been demoted to the Grade C bracket after their dissatisfactory show in the ongoing season. Pooja Vastrakar and Harleen Deol have retained their Grade C contract.
Punam Raut, Taniya Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy and Priya Punia who were part of the earlier contracting system have failed to retain their place and have not earned a retainer.
Contracted Indian Women’s Team players for 2022-23
Here is the complete list of Indian Women’s team contracted players for 2022-23:
Grade A – Harmanpreet Kaur,Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma
Grade B – Renuka Thakur, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shefali Verma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Grade C – Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, Sabbineni Meghana, Yastika BhatiaX Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol
In a significant move by the BCCI, they took significant steps to ensure equal pay in Men’s and Women’s circuits. As a result, the match fees for Indian Women have increased stagnantly whereas the retainer fees remain the same where Grade A players will get Rs. 50 Lakhs, Grade B will get Rs. 30 Lakhs and Grade C players will earn Rs. 10 Lakhs.
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