BCCI announces Central Contracts for Players

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced central contracts for 33 players. There will be four grades instead of three. The lowest grade D has been created for players who have a chance to break into or make a comeback to the team.

The new grading system is a sign of appreciation from BCCI for the efforts of the cricketers. It will also give stability to the players. Significantly, all members of the World Twenty20 winning team have received a contract. Grade-A players will receive Rs 60 lakh instead of the previous Rs 50 lakh. Similarly, Grade-B players will receive Rs 40 lakh, while Grade-C players will receive Rs 25 lakh. The contracts are effective from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008.

Grade A: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.

Grade B: VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer, S Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh, Virender Sehwag.

Grade C: Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina.

Grade D: Rohit Sharma, Joginder Sharma, Manoj Tiwari, Ishant Sharma, Ranadeb Bose, Mohammad Kaif, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Aakash Chopra, Yusuf Pathan.