Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma in Grade A as BCCI announces annual player contracts for India Women

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday, April 27, announced the annual player contracts for India Women. India Women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and all-rounder Deepti Sharma have been included in the highest bracket — Grade A.

Similarly, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Thakur, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, and Rajeshwari Gaikwad have been included in Grade B.

Meanwhile, a total of nine cricketers are included in Grade C. They include Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, Sabbhineni Meghana, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, and Yastika Bhatia.

Last year, the BCCI announced equal match fees for women’s cricketers — Rs 15 lakh for Tests, Rs 6 lakh for ODIs, and Rs 3 lakh for T20Is.

The previous annual contract amount for India Women was Rs 50 lakh (Grade A), Rs 30 lakh (Grade B) and Rs 10 lakh (Grade C). It remains uncertain whether those amounts have been increased since there was no official confirmation by the cricket board.

For the uninitiated, their male counterparts receive Rs 7 crore (Grade A+), Rs 5 crore (Grade A), Rs 3 crore (Grade B), and Rs 1 crore (Grade C).

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BCCI announces an increase in prize money for women's domestic cricket

The BCCI recently announced an increase in prize money for women's domestic cricket in India. The Senior Women’s One Day Trophy winners will receive Rs 50 crore, while the runners-up will take home Rs 25 lakh. The previous prize pool was Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah tweeted:

“I’m pleased to announce an increase in prize money for all @BCCI Domestic Tournaments. We will continue our efforts to invest in Domestic Cricket – which is the backbone of Indian Cricket. Ranji winners to get ₹5 crores (from 2 cr), Sr Women winners ₹50 lacs (from 6 lacs).”

Similarly, the prize money for the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy champions has skyrocketed from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 40 lakh. The runners-up will now get Rs 20 lakh as opposed to Rs 3 lakh.