BCCI upgrades Rahane, demotes Raina in new contracts

Struggling middle-order batsman Suresh Raina was downgraded to Grade B in the new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) centrally contracted players for year 2015-16, while batsman Ajinkya Rahane was rewarded for his recent performance with promotion to Grade A on Monday.

Left-handed Raina was in Grade A in 2014-15 year but was demoted to Grade B due to poor form. The Uttar Pradesh player has not been picked for the Test squad recently and has also performed poorly.

On the other hand, limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Test captain Virat Kohli, star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin continued their stay in the Grade A and will receive Rs.1 crore annually.

Players in Grade B are Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Mohammad Shami who will receive Rs.50 lakh a year.

Grade C players are Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Stuart Binny, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, K.L. Rahul, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, Sreenath Arvind who will receive Rs.25 lakh.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said India women cricketers were brought under contract for the first time and will be divided into two grades A and B with salary of Rs.15 lakh and Rs.10 lakh annually.

"I am happy to announce that India women cricketers were brought under contract for the first time and will be divided into two grades," Thakur said here.

In Grade A, senior players Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, M.D. Thirushkamini were named.

In Grade B, Smriti Mandana, Rajeswari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bist, Veda Krishnamurthy, Niranjana Nagarajan, Poonam Raut were named.