T20 World Cup: Promising young pacer Titas Sadhu, medium-pace all-rounders Arundhati Reddy and Amanjot Kaur, wicketkeeper-batter Uma Chetry and all-rounder Shreyanka Patil were handed their maiden BCCI women’s central contract for 2024-25 season after all of them made the cut in Grade C category on Monday.
On the other hand, Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and ace all-rounder Deepti Sharma have retained their spot in Grade A category with the highest pay of Rs 50 lakh.
Among the new entrants, Amanjot is the only player yet to make her India comeback after suffering a season-ending stress fracture in her back between the second and third editions of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The Punjab and MI all-rounder, who last played for India in January 2024, was recently named the Emerging Player of the Season in WPL 2025 as MI clinched its second title in three years.
Notable omissions from Group C include Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, S Meghana, Anjali Sarvani and Harleen Deol, who recently returned to the national team and registered her maiden ODI century.
Meanwhile, Arundhati Reddy, who made her T20I comeback and ODI debut last season, has slipped off the selectors’ radar but still secured a spot in the Grade C, Rs 10 lakh retainer category.
In Grade B, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad has been excluded after falling out of favour with selectors. Last seen in India’s one-off Test against South Africa in Chennai, she hasn’t featured in a white-ball match since September 2023. The Rs 30 lakh bracket for Grade B has now been reduced to four players: Renuka Thakur, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma, who has been absent from the national setup since the T20 World Cup 2024.
Despite being sidelined since the T20 World Cup in the UAE, Pooja Vastrakar has retained her Grade C contract.
BCCI’s women’s central contract list for the 2024-25 season:
Grade A: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma
Grade B: Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Shafali Verma
Grade A: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma
Article Source: IANS