Mithali Raj Demoted To Grade B, 15-year Old Shafali Verma Earns Maiden Central Contract
Published - 17 Jan 2020, 09:31 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:03 AM
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday, released the central contract list for India’s women team. Mithali Raj’s demotion in the newly-released highlights the new contracts. The batting mainstay and the captain of the ODI team has been downgraded to a Grade B central contract. She now joins another veteran Jhulan Goswami in the 30-lakh retainer bracket after retiring from T20Is.
The annual retainers remain the same as in 2018-19, with those in Grade A – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav – set to get INR 50 lakh for the ongoing season. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav and wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia have been promoted from Grade C to Grade B. Among new entrants who have earned the contract for the first time are 15-year old Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, and Priya Punia.
All the new entrants have entered the contract list through Grade C. The only one missing out from the previous list altogether was Mona Meshram. Verma earned her maiden contract thanks to her meteoric rise in the game. She has not looked back since impressing during the Women’s T20 Challenge last May. In September, she made her international debut against South Africa.
Also Read: Indian Cricketers And Their Salaries For The Year 2019-20
So far, the teenager has played nine T20Is, hitting 222 runs including two half-centuries at a strike rate of 142.30. She looks set to be India’s opener along with incumbent Smriti Mandhana in the upcoming T20 World Cup, set to played in Australia in February-March.
Here is the contracts list:
Grade A (INR 50 lakhs):
Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav
Grade B (INR 30 lakhs):
Mithali Raj, Ekta Bisht, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia, Radha Yadav
Grade C (INR 10 lakhs):
D Hemalatha, Anuja Patil, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia, Punam Raut, Shafali Verma
