BCCI central contracts 2020/21: Shafali Verma promoted to Grade B
What's the story
Young Indian opener Shafali Verma has been promoted to Grade B in BCCI's central contracts for the season 2020/21.
Shafali, who made her international debut in 2019, recently earned a call up to the ODI and Test squad for the upcoming tour to England.
Meanwhile, the likes of Punam Raut and Rajeshwari Gayakwad have also made notable gains.
Here are further details.
Shafali
Star performer for India
Shafali rose to prominence in the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup.
She amassed 163 runs at a strike rate of 158.25, and smashed a total of nine sixes. Her exploits helped India reach the grand finale.
The 17-year-old was also the leading run-scorer in India Women's recent T20I series against SA.
And now, she will embark on the impending tour of England.
Players
Youngster Richa Ghosh handed a Grade C contract
Punam Raut, who was impressive against South Africa in March this year, climbs from Grade C to B.
She slammed two half-centuries and her third century in the ODI format.
Left-arm spinner Rajeshwar Gayakwad, who topped the bowling charts in the South Africa T20I series, has also earned a similar promotion.
Meanwhile, the 17-year-old batter Richa Ghosh has been handed a Grade C contract.
Information
Only players with a Grade A contract
Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav are the only three players with a Grade A contract, while Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have retained their Grade B contracts. Meanwhile, Shikha Pandey has retained her Grade B contract.
Miss
Veda Krishnamurthy misses out
Middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy remains a notable absentee in the contract list.
She hasn't played the 50-over format for India since April 2018, while her last T20I appearance came at the Women's T20 World Cup.
The likes of Anuja Patil, D Hemlatha, and Ekta Bisht have also been omitted from the list of centrally contracted players.
List
List of centrally contracted players (India Women)
Grade 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.