Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Mar 24: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its women's central contracts for the 2024-25 season, with five players earning their maiden contracts. Pacer Titas Sadhu, all-rounders Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, and wicketkeeper-batter Uma Chetry have been included in Grade C.
At the top tier, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and all-rounder Deepti Sharma have retained their Grade A contracts, securing the highest annual retainership of ?50 lakh.
Among the new entrants, Amanjot Kaur is yet to return to the national side after suffering a stress fracture in her back between the second and third editions of the Women's Premier League (WPL). Despite the injury, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder, who last played for India in January 2024, was named the Emerging Player of WPL 2025, where MI secured its second title in three years.
Several notable names have been left out of the contract list, including Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, S Meghana, Anjali Sarvani, and Harleen Deol, despite Harleen recently scoring her maiden ODI century for India.
Arundhati Reddy, who made her T20I comeback and ODI debut last season, remains in the Grade C category (?10 lakh) but seems to have fallen off the selectors' radar.
In Grade B, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad has been excluded after not featuring in a white-ball match since September 2023. The ?30 lakh Grade B bracket now consists of only four players: Renuka Thakur, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Shafali Verma, who has been absent from the national team since the T20 World Cup 2024.
Despite being sidelined since the T20 World Cup in the UAE, Pooja Vastrakar has managed to retain her Grade C contract.
BCCI Women's Central Contracts 2024-25:
• Grade A (?50 lakh): Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma
• Grade B (?30 lakh): Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Shafali Verma
• Grade C (?10 lakh): Yastika Bhatia, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar