How much will Indian cricketers get paid by BCCI based on their category as per latest contracts for 2022-23?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday (March 26) announced the new annual contracts for Team India players (senior men’s team) for the 2022-23 season.
The big takeaway from the announcement is that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been given a promotion and included in the A+ category. The 34-year-old was in the A category when the contracts were handed out last year.
In-form opener Shubman Gill, T20I batting star Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounders Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya have also been given a promotion by BCCI in the new contracts that have been announced.
Gill and Suryakumar, who were in the Grade C category last year, have been given Grade B contracts. Axar has been promoted from Grade B to Grade A, while Pandya has jumped from Grade C to Grade A.
If we talk of demotions in BCCI’s annual contracts, struggling batter KL Rahul has lost his Grade A contract and finds himself pushed down to Grade B. All-rounder Shardul Thakur also gets a demotion, moving down from Grade B to Grade C.
Among those missing out include veteran pacer Ishant Sharma and former Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. Both were in the Grade B category last season. Wriddhiman Saha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal and Deepak Chahar, who were in Grade C last year, have also lost their contracts.
Pay structure of Indian players as per category
The BCCI's annual contracts are divided into four categories - Grade A+, Grade A, Grade B and Grade C.
It's self-explanatory that Grade A+ is the highest category, with players in this bracket getting paid ₹7 crore. Grade A players earn ₹5 crore; Grade B players get ₹3 crore; and Grade C ones ₹1 crore.
Who are the Indian cricketers in Grade A+ category as per latest BCCI contracts?
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja
Who are the Indian cricketers in Grade A category?
Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel
Who are the Indian cricketers in Grade B category?
Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill
Who are the Indian cricketers in Grade C category?
Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat.