BCCI announce 2015/16 players contract list, Ajinkya Rahane handed upgrade

Rahane has been rewarded for his recent run of form

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has announced the 2015/16 season central contracts for both the Men’s and Women’s teams. No major surprises apart from a few relegations across various grades. Players such as Suresh Raina and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have lost their Grade A contract, owing to poor form, while Rahane has been rewarded for his recent performances.

The Senior Men’s team list is as follows:

Grade A (INR One Crore): MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane.Grade B (INR 50 lakhs): Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Shami.Grade C (INR 25 lakhs): Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Stuart Binny, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, S Arvind.

As expected MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin retain their positions in grade A, with Rahane becoming the sole inclusion. Kumar and Raina are two notable relegations from Grade A.

No major exclusions in Grade B apart from Kumar’s relegation. Harbhajan Singh has been offered a contract, after being excluded last season. He joins fellow spinners Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja. The latter has also been relegated from grade B to C. Ranji Trophy stalwarts Parvez Rasool and Manoj Tiwary have failed to retain their position in Grade C.

The women’s player contracts were also announced for the very first time: They are as follows:

Grade A (INR 15 lakhs): Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, MD Thirushkamini.Grade B (INR 10 lakhs): Smriti Mandana, Rajeswari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bist, Veda Krishnamurthy, Niranjana Nagarajan, Poonam Raut.

Veterans Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have been awarded Grade A contracts, after being a part of the team for close to a decade. Sportskeeda had earlier reported about Women’s cricketers being offered primary central contracts, after a nine year wait.