Shafali Verma makes it to Grade B in BCCI annual contracts

The BCCI has rewarded Shafali Verma with a Grade B retainership while leaving out Veda Krishnamurthy and Ekta Bisht from the latest list of annual contracts.

Teen sensation Shafali Verma who is set to make her debut in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, will also be a part of the Women's Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers.

Acknowledging Shafali Verma's consistent performances in the T20Is, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has rewarded the young batter with a Grade B retainership while leaving out Veda Krishnamurthy and Ekta Bisht from the latest list of Central contracts.

Ahead of the team's tour of England, the BCCI announced that while Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav will remain in Grade A, Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma feature in Grade B, along with Punam Raut, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues.

In Grade C, the Board had put 11 players last year, but this time around, the list has been pruned to six with Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia and Richa Ghosh.

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As per the contracts - which are for a period between October 2020 to September 2021 - the Grade A players will receive Rs 50 lakh, while Grade B will get Rs 30 lakh. For players in Grade C, the amount will be Rs 10 lakh.

In 2020, BCCI had named 22 players in the contract list, but this time, the list has been reduced to 19 with players like Anuja Patil and D. Hemalatha failing to make the cut.

THE LISTGrade A (Rs. 50 lakh): Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav. Grade B (Rs. 30 lakh): Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma, Punam Raut, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues. Grade C (Rs. 10 lakh): Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia, Richa Ghosh.