BCCI released the contract details of all Indian players yesterday, introducing a new category this time, called the ‘Category A+’ which comprises of the highest paid players in the Indian circuit.
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Only 5 Indian players made it to the top most grade, with former captain, MS Dhoni missing out.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were included in the topmost category, and there seemed to be one conclusion from this , that being that BCCI had rewarded players who had(and will continue to be) been featuring for the India team in all 3 formats.
MS Dhoni thus missed out on the top contract, as he retired from Test cricket in 2004. This was also confirmed by a top BCCI official yesterday.
The second grade included of players who made themselves indispensable in at least format(primarily the Test format).
Also Read: Full details about the new player contracts as announced by BCCI
“It’s a simple logic that selectors have applied. Play more and get paid more. The five in question are indispensable in all three formats right now. They deserved to be paid more. Also Ravi Shastri, Kohli and Dhoni have been taken into confidence.” he said.
“The second group comprises players who are certainties in at least one format like Saha and Pujara. They are in second group because of their dependability in at least one format.
“Dhoni has retired and Ashwin, Jadeja are no longer automatic selections in limited overs. They are as of now not in WC scheme. So in second category,” the official added.
Category B comprises of players who are mainstays in the Indian limited overs squad(with probably the exception of Hardik Pandya who features in Tests too).
As per the official, Category C comprises of players who have played at least one match for India in the last year.
The third group (B) comprises of players who are considered as floaters and can be put in anywhere and players who have played at least one match for India in the last one year have been put in Grade C,” the official said.
CoA-led BCCI has provided the players with a marked rise in their salaries, with the topmost category receiving a 350 per cent rise and the second highest category seeing a 500 per cent rise.
The fee structure has been revised by the BCCI in order to incentivise the players further for the amount of matches that they play in a year.
“The Committee of Administrators (CoA) was of the view that the performance and position of Indian Cricket needs to be recognised with the fee structure comparable to the best in the world,” the BCCI said
For women cricketers, the top most category attracted a salary of Rs 50 lakh and 4 Indian women players(Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana) were included in that bracket.
